Nablus

Reasonable morning at
Huwwara.

08.00 The queue at the checkpoint was crowded and dense. Since it
opened, it was closed for 40 minutes due to an alert about a female
suicide bomb. The checkpoint commander and the DCO officer were
doing the checking themselves assisted by six more soldiers, coping
efficiently with the huge crowd, and the pace was rather quick.
Women are let through without checking. Almost all men passed even
within the age of 16-35. Both officers sounded sincere when they
said that they are willing to ease on Palestinians as much as
possible. Some people refused once tried again, and sometimes were
then more successful. At about 10:00 a group of high ranking
officers arrived, and gave the soldiers some minor tips about
organizing lanes, taxi parking, etc. But unfortunately they
studiously avoided any contact with us.

North Huwwara: As usual, the regulations are strictly implemented.
Women passed unchecked and the men in line all had valid permits.
Vehicles: Very few private cars with special permits and some
ambulances passed after a brief check. Trucks with merchandise did
the back-to-back arrangement on a road bypassing the checkpoint
from the east. The drivers seem to know about it, but we were not
allowed to cross over there. Recall that blue IDs and foreign
passports are not allowed through Huwwara. Still, two young
Canadian volunteers from "Hope", a charity organization,
were let through as an exceptional gesture. Tapu'ah junction:
Passengers were ordered out of the taxis and buses to be checked
one by one.