PM

Sarra 19.1.2004 Watchers: Menucha M., Tsila L., Maya K., Ruthie K. (reporting), Miri K. Summary We drove in N’s taxi - highly recommended as he also serves as a translator.Sarra, at the western outskirts of Nablus, few soldiers. We see two detainees crouched facing a wall, for hours. Palestinians waiting to continue the way are called one by one by a soldier perched on the hillock. Each one has to climb up this area to show documents, including women with parcels. The soldier is guarded by another with a gun.The situation in Sarra is intolerable: only residents are allowed out, although the village servers as a passage from Nablus westward. Yesterday people were not allowed through, but this too was not absolute. A quote from one of the Sarra people: “We cannot go right (to Nablus), we cannot go left (to Jitt) everything is arbitrary: vegetables, fruits, flour, medications are not allowed. Women about to give birth cannot reach Nablus. After dark, no ambulances are willing to come.” (thanks to Maya for the quote). Our conclusions: It is urgent to staff this CP often. The IDF does not have enough soldiers, so that passage is slow. Perhaps we should recommend that they station older reservists there to ease the atmosphere. I would suggest that Knesset members visit there. We felt that this CP was not a security post but a harassment CP. Report: We set out at 12.30, stopped at Qalqilya [site of a recent CP] to see that it is still totally unrestricted.As soon as we reached Sarra we met a lone woman walking down from the village. She told us she was walking to Jitt (3 km) to catch a taxi to give birth in Tulkarm. Nadim gave her a lift to the taxis.We saw two detainees crouched and facing a wall, had been there since the morning as they tried to “break through”, their IDs were being checked by the Security forces. Amongst the people waiting to pass was a family with two young children who had been waiting for one hour. They visited their sister in Sarra (which is forbidden) and were not permitted to return to their home two kilometers away - their house could be seen from the CP. They were told they have to go via Beit Ibba, maybe 15-20 km. Around. We called the IDF Emergency Hotline, were told that only Sarra residents can go left, but that there were cars running between Beit Ibba and Sarra. No such thing. We called again, also the Moked Center for the Defense of the Individual. The DCO [Civil Administration] office said they should walk. I reiterated that the IDF would be faced with the situation of a woman who collapsed because she was told to walk 15 km with 2 children... Suddenly a car came out of Sarra and took the family towards Ibba. Not five minutes later a DCO jeep came to allow this family to walk back home the short way – too late, we said, they found a lift via Beit Ibba. But not so. They were returned because the Moked phoned them that they would not be able to pass Ibba. We started all over again. Menucha with the Moked, I even reached the Brigade Commander’s office, but when I identified myself the woman said: We are not allowed to speak with MachsomWatch, and hung up on me. All this time we are also trying to deal with the crouching detainees. Elad from the Brigade Commander’s office gave me a legalistic explanation of the situation. I said that sitting with the face to the wall looks awful. ”Yes," he answered, "It looks very bad but that how things are, the detainees must not observe the soldiers work”... The soldier on the hilltop tells Maya that if it were not for us he would have released the detainees by 3 P.M., but now he's punishing them and also that there should be no connection between their release and our presence.A few people do start passing from Nablus to Jitt. the detainees are released aournd 15.30. Suddenly the family is told they can walk down towards their home (the short way.) We give the wife and 2 children a lift; the husband refuses. We meet him near Jitt where 2 B'Tselem guys and 1 from PHR [Territories' Human Rights organizations] tell us the situation in Beit Ibba is horrendous – 40-50 detainees. It is too late for us to return there.I apologize for the long report. I think I failed to convey the sense of frustration and pain we all felt in face of the arbitrary behavior of the soldiers and the army.,/i>