Beit Iba

Beit Iba 8.2 AMObservers: Yael P, Etti P (reporting)Very close to the checkpoint another unannounced checkpoint – 43 vehicles including a tractor are being checked very slowly and are almost immobile. The drivers are standing outside the cars talking despairingly. At Beit Iba short lines, moving fast. The commander, a long-haired reservist, is very friendly towards us and explains the situation. Only doctors or humanitarian cases are allowed to pass.The DCO officer explains to a couple bringing their blanket-swathed baby for a hospital X-ray in Nablus that they can go through. It seems to us that the 2nd lieutenant at Huwwara interpreted the regulations too strictly and we call up the brigade spokesman to clarify the instructions. He says there is a difference between Huwwara and Beit Iba. At Huwwara there was a special alert. It is not clear why doctors and humanitarian cases can go through Beit Iba but not Huwwara.Immediately after the exit from Beit Iba there was a line for checking at the unannounced checkpoint mentioned above. Nothing moved and the line grew constantly longer. People had been waiting two hours. Since the road is very narrow we drove along the opposite lane with other vehicles with Israeli licence plates and one ambulance. We stopped to talk to the soldiers, friendly reservists, but they didn’t explain why it was taking so long. They promised to speed things up but it didn’t seem likely that they would act differently as a result of our request.