Huwwara north & south

Huwwara Sun.2.1.04 AMObservers: Edna L, Iris S, Sharon V, Ditza Y (reporting). Guest: Karin7:45 – Tapuah checkpoint – about 10 cars aiming for Nablus-Jerusalem and 24 cars on their way to Ramallah-Jerusalem.8:00 – Huwwara south4 detainees waiting half an hour, released when we arrive. A small number of people are waiting and go through fast.8:30 –Huwwara northA checker truck on the spot. 3 students from Nablus studying at Qalandiya are not allowed through. The student card does not grant them the right of passage. About 7 people at the checkpoint, going through fast. 3 detainees. The DCO officer is cooperative, talks to the Palestinians when we ask him to and does so humanely and tolerantly.8:45 – Huwwara southA large number going through the checking positions. Old people and women are let through rapidly by the commander without checks. No detainees at the turnstile. 2 trucks are not allowed through to Nablus. The commander says this checkpoint is not for trucks.Huwwara north – 9:302 18-year-old students who say they are studying at Qanaldiya are not allowed to pass. I telephoned Raad who talked to them and discovered that they had asked for a passage permit from the commercial bureau and not from the DCO because they are working and not studying. He told them who to contact for permits. A Palestinian without a permit who wanted to reach a Jerusalem hospital was told to make an appointment at the hospital through the relevant body in the Palestinian Authority.Inside the ID of a young man who wanted to go through, and seemed mentally unstable, the soldiers found a note with the telephone number of his parents and a request to tell him to go home. The soldiers telephoned his parents, talked to them with the aid of a detainee and told them their son was there.Huwwara south – 10:30One detainee, a plasterer from Beit Furik working in Nablus. Spent 40 minutes in the pen before being released. Lively pedestrian traffic, rapid passage. An ambulance goes through after a brief check.The driver of a station wagon is not allowed through, only cars can pass and the station wagon, although empty and without a load – was obliged to turn back, another example of illogicality. The driver raised his voice to the commander – who had acted so humanely before - yelled back at him and told him that as long as he was commander of the checkpoint, he would never go through. 10:45 – we left.