'Azzun 'Atma, Beit Furik, Habla, Huwwara, Za'tara (Tapuah), Tue 25.6.13, Afternoon

Translator:  Charles K.

13:40  Habla closed exactly at 14:00.  At that moment a Palestinian vehicle arrived and wasn’t allowed through.

14:50  Huwwara.  The checkpoint was manned.  Most vehicles going through were inspected.  When we arrived we saw four older men standing at the checkpoint near the concrete barrier, next to their vehicle.  We went over to see what was going on.  The checkpoint commander came over to tell us he’d found a knife in their vehicle.  We waited about 16 minutes and telephoned the Nablus DCO to report the incident and tell them the men had already been standing in the hot sun for half an hour and we want to know when they’ll be taken care of.  The DCO answered that neither they nor we decide; the soldiers do.  Fifteen minutes later I called the humanitarian office to report, and after calling them twice more they told me they still had no answer.  Meanwhile we waited in our car.  A soldier who’d come down from the observation tower came over and told us to leave: “I’ve been ordered to tell you; it’s dangerous.”

We left at 15:50.  We drove to Beit Furik where there was also a checkpoint.  Spiked barriers had been laid on both sides and vehicles were being inspected.  When we asked what was going on they told us there’d been an alert.  We returned to the Huwwara checkpoint; the detainees were still there in the sun.  A police car was present so we decided to go up toward Beracha and watch from there.  The men were released five minutes later.

Many military vehicles on Huwwara’s main road, and one bulldozer.  Soldiers stood at the entrance to Beita (two jeeps), talking to people.

Za’tara is empty; not even one Palestinian vehicle went by.

17:45  Azzun Atma.  Two detainees; they’d tried to enter the village through a gap in the fence.