Huwwara North and South

HUWWARA NORTH & SOUTH, Thursday 9 December 2004 PMObservers (Huwwara North): Roni K., Biriah L., Yardena T., Yael A. (reporting)Observers ( Huwwara South): Shalva C. ( reporting to Yael A.), Shosh Z.Guests: Rakefet, and Orna N. colour=red> Huwwara North — 14:20 to 15:45 The central issue: a new organization at the Huwwara checkpoint — from now on, the special "Checkpoints Unit" is to be posted here.14:20 – There were two detainees in the detention shed when we arrived. There was also a beefed-up troop presence and, as soon as we appeared, Major O . , the commander of the new "checkpoints unit", came over, introduced himself and explained the changes to us. He had a name tag on his uniform and all the checking positions were manned by Military Police. Most of the staff were women, who, according to O., had been through a month-long course similar to that taken by the personnel who work in security at Lod airport. From now on, he said, all the staff involved with inspection would be from the Military Police and would have special training; regular soldiers would be responsible only for guarding the post. O. introduced us to Lieutenant A., the commander of the inspection team at the checkpoint who told us that every MP at the checking positions would have a l laptop computer. (We had already noticed these computers, but they weren't functioning yet.) The computer, the lieutenant said, would enable the MPs to be in "direct communication" with "whomever they are supposed to be communicating with"[!]. The turnstiles, he added , were soon to be abolished and the portable x-ray scanner would be replaced by a permanent machine .Three representatives from the District Coordinating Office (DCO ) [the army section that handles civilian matters; it generally has representatives at the checkpoints ostensibly to alleviate the lot of the Palestinians] were present the whole time, among them was A., who has always been ready to help, has a positive attitude, and creates a calm atmosphere around him. The DCO men were talking about a new order by which students were to be allowed to go through the checkpoint every day, rather than being limited to Wednesdays and Saturdays. Meanwhile, the line was passing through quietly and efficiently, without any of the shouting and threats to which we have become so accustomed. 15:00 – There were already 15 detainees in the detention area. [Detainees are, typically, men aged from 16 to 30 or 35 who have no passage permits; recently, young women, too, have been detained. The detainees' ID details are phoned through to the General Security Services (GSS, also known as the Shabak or the Shin Bet, the Hebrew acronym for the GSS) for checking against a central list of security suspects and the answers are then relayed back to the checkpoints. This cumbersome process can take considerable time, and that can be prolonged even more if the soldiers wait to accumulate a batch of ID cards before passing them on to the GSS , or if they behave in a similarly tardy manner at the end of the process, waiting until they have a batch of GSS clearances before they release individual detainees. Meanwhile, the detainees are virtually prisoners at the checkpoint where the soldiers retain the ID cards until the entire process is completed]. Most detainees today were pupils from a vocational high school (this is the second time I have noticed them being detained). They were too young to apply for and be granted passage permits and their student cards weren't sufficient. Both the checkpoint commander and the DCO officer promised to check out this matter. Also detained were some an-Najah students: apparently the easing of passage requirements has not done away with the "principle" of random checking of ID cards. As we were talking to the commander, a van with Habad hassidim arrived, playing noisy music and dispensing doughnuts. Although they invited "the Machsomwatch women " to join them, they at the same time tried to get in our way and break into our conversations. The lieutenant ignored them entirely. One should add that, throughout our conversation with Major O., an Israel army photographer stood nearby, photographing us and the soldiers at their inspection tasks.Huwwara South — 14:10 When we arrived at 14:10, there were a few detainees who were immediately released. Sergeant Y., at our request, helped with the passage of a man (and his baby son) who wished to visit his hospitalized wife in Nablus: he'd been rejected previously because he hadn't had the right papers. Sergeant D., who replaced him, also tried to help as much as he could. The line of those wanting to enter was long, but was moving quickly.