Beit Iba

Beit Iba Wednesday PM, 2.2.05Observers: Raya Y., Hadas T. (reporting)For the first time in the history of our shift there were no detainees when we arrived. A large number of people coming from Nablus, but the passage through was very quick. The checkpoint commander did not allow the soldier who was checking those entering Nablus to talk with us, claiming (which amused everyone in the vicinity) that we were interfering with their work, at a time when absolutely no one was going in that direction.In order to prevent a disorganized passage through to the inspection station which is beyond the turnstiles – on the narrow path between the checkpoint and the fence – the path was blocked with a mound. The path is mainly used by those entering Nablus, and the mound forced them to descend to the road, which was completely full of trucks and buses being carefully inspected. We ask the checkpoint commander to remove the mound before an accident happened and, despite the "excommunication" which had been imposed upon us, he agreed and removed the obstacle which he had previously placed there. During the change of shifts of the checkpoint commander, the passage through was even faster. The assumption that seniority in the military is a sufficient qualification for the job of checkpoint commander does not always prove true in reality. During the period of an hour and a half only one young man was detained and he was also released shortly.