Huwwara South, Beit Furik

HUWWARA SOUTH , BEIT FURIK, Wednesday 29 December 2004 PMAlona C., Alia S., Dafna B. (reporting) colour=red>SummaryThere were only a few people and transit in Huwwara was quick. There were virtually no detainees, and those who were detained were held for only a very short time. There was considerable pressure on vehicles at the Tapuah/Za'tara crossroads: it would be worthwhile concentrating on this checkpoint, in the light of the current relaxation at Huwwara as against the difficulties here.15:00 — Huwwara South There were only very few people using the checkpoint , or perhaps it only seemed so, since they were not delayed, and passed through in a trice. The check of ID cards was only random and quick, the Palestinians themselves were surprised, and quite often hesitated when they reached the soldiers; then they plucked up courage and went through. But one of the soldiers called out ‘Hallo, hallo, you, where do you think you’re going?’ so the Palestinian – confused, and muddled came back with his ID, mumbling his surprise at the soldier who rules his life so completely.There were almost no detainees in the shed.[Detainees are, typically, men aged from 16 to 30 or 35 who have no passage permits; recently, young women, too, have been detained. There has also recently been a downward shift in the ages affected – now from 14 to 30 — but this can vary. 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.] During the whole of our shift they detained six people one after the other. Each time the checkpoint commander immediately phoned to pass on the man’s details — there are so far no computers here, perhaps there never will be, just as there’s never been a District Coordinating Office representative here -- [ the DCO is the army section that handles civilian matters; it generally has representatives at the checkpoints ostensibly to alleviate the lot of the Palestinians]. In 10 minutes at the most the detainees went on their way. So why were those long hours of waiting necessary? What’s different now? I believe that in the light of the elections and the increased presence of observers from all over the world orders have been given to pass people through quickly, and not to create pressure, queues, and ‘unpleasant’ sights, so that the world can see that the restrictions on movement in the territories are ‘not so terrible’. How is it that the security situation has changed so drastically in the past two weeks as to enable a smoother passage?A woman soldier checking one of the bags (on the ground, of course) pulled out a packet of Marlborough Light cigarettes. She tossed it in the air, and called out: ‘See what he’s got in his bag!’ to the soldier at the transit point about 20 metres away, over the heads of the Palestinians passing through between them, thus embarrassing the owner of the case. The soldier answered : ‘Rich, eh?’ On the other hand, the vehicles moved agonizingly slowly, and many were sent back. Throughout our shift there was a line of no fewer than eight vehicles.ElectionsThe checkpoint commander said he had orders about the transit of election officials, registered voters and candidates, but he said he wasn't allowed to reveal them. Palestinians whom we interviewed said that they hadn’t encountered any problems or heard of any. In general, there was a feeling of indifference. One Palestinian even said that he didn’t know that there were to be elections. ‘Now I know why they stuck Abu Mazen on my taxi,’ he said. Beit Furik There were more people here than in Huwwara, but no detainees. The soldiers were slow, but polite, and in the half-hour that we were there nobody was sent back. Here the turnstile was working[these are not simple turnstiles such as one finds in a subway station, but high , revolving gates made of steel bars: each segment is barely large enough to admit one average-sized person; there is virtually no room to spare for anything that person may be carrying , whether a child or a parcel; passage for pregnant women or for the elderly is extremely difficult and frightening], and they checked everyone (that’s why it was so slow) with the aid of a computer. (Is the passage from Nablus to Beit Furik more dangerous than the passage from Nablus to the rest of the West Bank? Or is the reason that in Huwwara and Beit Iba there are more international eyes looking on?)The checkpoint commander, polite and welcoming to us and to the people passing through, said that for the elections anyone saying he had some function would allowed into Nablus, even without a permit. And coming out? If he wasn’t from one of the nearby villages he'd need a permit. He explained that the closure applied to Nablus, and only inhabitants of Nablus needed permits. He also said that he found his job difficult, and hated it. ‘But when I’m in uniform – I obey orders, without reference to my political views.’