Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za'tara (Tapuah), Thu 29.11.07, Afternoon

Natanya translating.

We had a short shift for personal reasons.

13.35 Marad...the gate was open and at Zeita the entrance was barricaded with cement blocks.  

At Za'tara were 40 cars from the north and two posts, 3 from the west with one post.
  
Yitzhar was empty.
 

13.56   Checkpoint of Huwwara.
No detainees and many people. Here a Thursday is like our Friday.  Many families and the women waited for the men who were being checked. They have to wait far away in the direction of the car park.  
But today it is done without the usual rudeness. 3 checking posts for men. A DCO representative helps to find the father of a baby of a few days whose mother is holding him so as to free him as soon as possible and allow them to go home. There is an x-ray machine.
Car leaving Nablus are carefully checked. 4 soldiers are checking. The car lane passes fairly quickly.

15.00 Beit Furik. 
From afar we see a detainee but we canot talk to him. The commander said that the man was caught when he went in a forbidden direction. He will be punished by being detained for a few hours. Those are the orders from on high and we could not find out anything from the man. Pedestrians did not have to wait.

At 15.21 a line of cars began to build up because of the problem of checking a truck which arrived from Beit Furik.  10 minutes later when the problem was solved cars began to go through in two lanes which is not usual here.  Only one soldier checks the pedestrians and the cars are checked in each lane by a soldier with security guards standing on top and in the sentry area between the two lanes. So the pressure was lifted.

15.46 At Yitzhar is a hummer next to road 60 but the checkpoint is not manned and there is no checking.

At Za'tara are 35 cars in both directions.

Zeita is stil closed and at Marda the gate is open.

16.06 Pre ssure on the road in the direction of Za'tara because of an accident.