Nablus

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Dec-13-2003
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Huwarra - Beit Furiq

Watchers: H.H., V.B., V.S., M.M.

Tapuach/Za'atar Junction: north-bound direction empty, south-bound
direction long line of cars being checked by one soldier only.
Approximately 30 vehicles lined up.

Yitzhar Junction: flying checkpoint that blocked all traffic. We
approached the soldiers and they said that passage was allowed but
they are checking everyone. High security alert.

Huwarra: CLOSED at 8:00. At least 1,000 people milling about in
fear and tension. Checkpoint closed due to multiple (and different)
intelligence reports of a terrorist(s) returning (or exiting)
Nablus. All checkpoints around Nablus closed. No entry/exit from
the city. Only ambulances and extreme humanitarian
cases.

Elad from the DCO was present and managing the
checkpoint.

Three young men (in their 20's) detained: blind-folded, hands tied
behind their backs, sitting in the "sterileinfo-icon zone" away
from crowd. One of them had been beaten severely. Paramedics came
to check his condition but left him there. Just before the
checkpoint was closed the soldiers and this individual got into
some sort of argument and he threw rocks at the soldiers hitting
one of them in the head and hand. Not clear about the other two men
sitting with him.

Soldiers were not cooperative with us. Only allowed humanitarian
intervention when the reason was dramatic. One example: a woman in
labor, her water already broke. She was permitted to go in an
ambulance.

A car from ECHO (Office of Humanitarian Aid of the European
Commission) arrived. Eventually they were given permission to pass
but one person had filmed the scene and Elad made them erase it and
prove that it was erased.

A Palestinian surgeon (in a PA car) with two visiting nurses from
Canada: He was scheduled to perform surgery on a child in Nablus --
he was held at the checkpoint from 8:00 -- 11:30. Elad said that he
will allow him to pass but that the need wasn't urgent enough to
allow him to pass while the checkpoint was closed. They were
permitted passage at 11:30 when the checkpoint
reopened.

After approximately two hours of waiting most people gave up and
left. The checkpoint cleared from about one thousand people to
about 25 within minutes. Mean while, there was tension and
confusion among the crowd. Only very persistent souls remained and
when the checkpoint reopened at 11:30 they passed.

Our driver (a wonderful guide and translator to boot) M. was
detained for checking when he came to get us. Because of the
closureinfo-icon they would not allow vehicles to stand anywhere near the
checkpoint. When he tried to come get us he was first given
permission to approach by the soldiers. Then just as he drove
forward other soldiers denied him passage and sent him back. He
went through this cycle with them a couple of times and his last
understanding was that he could pass. Apparently, the soldiers then
called ahead to the checkpoint to report that he "fled"
from them with the vehicle. He did not, he was given permission.
So, they checked the van and his ID but no one apologized to him
for the incident.

Special acknowledgment should be given to Hadas Ziv from Physicians
for Human Rights she was exceptionally helpful and spent the entire
day on the phone with us.

Elad accused us of reporting to the Army Humanitarian line that
they were preventing passage of ambulances. We did not make such a
report. V.S. called the Army Humanitarian line back and demanded
that they correct the situation. They denied the accusation too but
Elad refused to hear anything else. In his eyes, we had no
legitimacy.

Beit Furiq: When we arrived it was open and people were passing.
There were twelve detained men waiting along the dirt hill to the
left. All of them had tried in different ways to go around the
checkpoint and were caught. A few of them had been in a truck
transporting sheep -- the sheep were subsequently detained as
well...

At the end of the day, M. took us on tour of villages in the area
in which the roads had been totally cut off funneling the traffic
into roads maintained by checkpoints.