Nablus

8.30am. At the south end of the
checkpoint, several hundred people are crowded like cattle. Women
and children are let through slowly, but nearly no men can pass.
Only two soldiers are in charge: one controls the slow stream of
approaching people, and one checking the papers. We call around for
more soldiers. At 11:00 some arrive, and within half an hour, the
crowd, (incl. men) is allowed to pass, and the line of waiting
people becomes much shorter.

At the north end, we are not allowed to be at the checkpoint.
Nonetheless, we look around. There are fewer people than in the
south end. Things seem more organized, although the soldiers are
tough. A detainee stands in a small enclosure, in the glaring sun.
He tried to run away, and his punishment is to stay there for many
hours. Later he was moved to the shade, upon our request. A closure
was in effect since the early morning, no passage from north to
south. It was relieved somewhat at 10.00. There was no closure on
the opposite direction.

Humanitarian cases: There were many people with health problems,
who could not get through the crowd. We helped one sick woman
through, which was scary. Women and children were nearly crushed in
the crowd. Some people with appointments to clinics and hospitals
in Nablus were refused. Those who were allowed to pass had to wait
for their husbands, who were not allowed to go with them. Some
teachers were let through, and some were detained. Arbitrariness is
the name of the game.

The soldiers: At the beginning the two soldiers were very nervous,
not coping with the crowd and the situation. Both were very rude
towards the Palestinians, occasionally pushing them and pointing
their guns at them. They were quite hostile towards us. Two
Palestinians seemed to act as "assistants" to the
soldiers in regulating the queue. What is the benefit? A student
told us that he had to give the soldier 4 NIS in order to be
allowed to pass. Another story is that last Tuesday, a woman was
searched in Huwwara by a woman soldier, and 200 NIS were taken from
her. The credibility of these stories could not be checked. In a
"chat" with a soldier, the word "humiliation"
comes up. He objects, saying he himself goes through the same
experience when he is checked in an entrance to a dancing club in
Tel-Aviv on Friday night. What denial.

Transfer of cargo: The soldiers allow very few people to offer
cargo transfer service between the two ends of the checkpoint. Two
very young kids from Awarta, the nearby village, complained that
their cart was confiscated by the soldiers. The soldier said that
the cart would be returned "maybe in a year or two".
Another adult porter was ordered to leave the checkpoint. His cart
was loaded with suitcases, the suitcases were searched by another
soldier beforehand, and the owner of the luggage was already
waiting for it on the north side. We could not help in either
case.