Beit Iba

Beit IbaWed. 16.2.05 AMObservers:: Netty A, Rina Z, Michalina D (reporting)The access road from Ramin to Road 57 is still blocked.7:40-9:05 Lively pedestrian and vehicular traffic to and from Nablus, sparse on the road to Kuchin.Beit IbaThe checkpoint is manned by reservists, reinforced by the military police. There was a DCO representative there throughout our watch. Passage of vehicles to and from Nablus, though quite fast, was conducted according to the lists at the checkpoint. The instructions regarding population sectors permitted to go to and fro have not changed, but there is a relative improvement in speed, particularly for pedestrians. In the past, many of them were detained for what the soldiers called “random checks” or “profile checking”. Now at least people classified as permitted tp pass, including students, went through without delay, by showing IDs.A young man was detained for several minutes after answering the soldier’s question with somewhat black humor. The soldier was not impressed and this sufficed for detention, but the commander immediately released him.