'Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Jit, Za'tara (Tapuah), Thu 1.4.10, Afternoon
Translator: Charles K.
Intermediate days of Passover – closure
.
Unusually heavy military presence in the Itamar area.
14:25 The entrance to Zeita-Jamma’in is closed, as usual. Today there are no vehicles waiting on either side. Because of the closure?!
14:30 Za’tara checkpoint – Vehicles pass soldiers manning one position, without stopping. Heavy vehicular traffic from Ramallah to Nablus. No detainees in the parking lot.
15:00 Awarta checkpoint – Soldiers are inspecting a truck. No line. On our way back – there are no vehicles at the checkpoint.
On the side of the apartheid road, going west, between Itamar and Beit Furik, we saw an armed soldier walking on the hills.
15:10 Beit Furik checkpoint – we saw no soldiers at the checkpoint.
15:13 Now we see three armed soldiers walking on the hills west of the apartheid road between Beit Furik and Itamar.
A week ago two Palestinians from Awarta, which is nearby, were shot to death.
15:15 Two soldiers guarding Itamar’s hitchhiking location.
15:20 Huwwara checkpoint – Many soldiers at the checkpoint. We arrived at the changing of the guard. Nahal soldiers are replacing soldiers from Kfir/Nahshon. Heavy vehicular traffic on both sides. Sometimes it piles up, but quickly thins out. Trucks are turned back to Nablus, to the Awwarta checkpoint.
We saw three motorcyclists coming from Nablus – a rare sight.
16:10 We didn’t see any police or military vehicles at the Jit junction.
Looking east toward the blocked entrance to Sara we saw a military command car parked there.
16:15 Deir Sharaf checkpoint – not manned.
.