'Azzun 'Atma, Habla, Huwwara, Tue 30.10.12, Afternoon

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Observers: 
Nurit Popper, Pitzi Steiner and Petahya (reporting)
Oct-30-2012
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Afternoon
Seriously? Does this make us safer?

 

 

At 13:45 we arrived at the Habla gate which was open. People passed in both directions and the gate was closed at 14:15. We continued to Huwwara, on the way, at the entrance to the village of Jinsafot,  there was a flying CP, vehicles and taxis were stopped and ID cards were checked.

On the road of Jat-Huwwara there was massive traffic of military and police vehicles.

At Huwwara the CP was empty, there was hardly any traffice, on the way back the Zaatara CP wasn't manned, at the entrance to Kif-el Haret stood three military jeeps.

And last but not least – Azoun Atma – we arrived at 15:45 and we saw the

Old sights of the Huwwara and Beit Ibba CPs. We left the car and crossed the road and saw a group of about 15 people and a five year old boy trying to climb the gate and shouting "we are hungry, we are tired, open the gate, we want to get home". We asked the soldier what was going on and they answered "that they report only to their commanding officer".

We talked to the people, you won't believe it, it simply drives me crazy they said they are from Azoun Atma their house are  outside the fence and they have authorization. Each time they have to buy milk they enter the village after presenting the authorization and depositing the ID cards, but this time they left early in the morning to pick their olive trees which are inside the village. They finished their work and arrived at the gate at 13:00 to return home, they soldiers didn't enable them to pass and didn't open the gate and when they asked why? The answer was that the soldiers lost military binoculars and they were sure that one of them found it and that they won't return to their homes until they returned it.

We were absolutely shocked. We began contacting the humanitarian center and the DCO . I talked to Adal and they promised to check the matter. 20 minustes later they contacted us from the center and  said that something had been stoled from the soldiers. When I reprimanded them they said they would take care of matter. Adal too contacted us and said that he had sent a jeep to check the matter out. A few officers arrived, three jeeps one after the other, they whispered with the soldiers, talked on phones but nothing happened. I call Adal, Adal calls me back, from the Center they also call and everybody promises that they would pass within five minutes. It is already half pas five. I called the Center and said I would notify the media. I stood not far from the officers and I contacted the journalist Alik Maor, a military reporter from the Megaphone organization, and at the same moment he passed this on while my phone was open. A few minutes later another jeep arrived and this time the soldiers began letting the people pass one by one, after checking them of course. At the same time one of the people calls me and asks us to photograph – look what the soldier has done. We see that the soldiers has taken from him the pail which was full of tomatoes and  has emptied it on the floor. We took photographs of course and when we asked the CP commander why they did this he answered simply "how else can we check what he has underneath the tomatoes". And this is how the event finished and I ask you forgiveness that my report is so long, but it helped me unload a small portion of the pressure I am under.

  Azun Atme 30-11-12  

We left at 17:45.

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