Beit Iba, Jit, Thu 15.5.08, Afternoon

14:20 – J'it Junction

A long line of more than 25 vehicles from the East to
West direction. The waiting time in line – more than half an hour. More than
10 vehicles from the North-South direction.

Men are required to get off the buses and be
individually checked.

Reserve soldiers on duty. They report about serious
warnings which is why they are at the junction doing strict inspections.

While we are there, the North-South line also
lengthened and another 20 vehicles arrived.

15:00 – Beit Iba

Quiet here. No vehicles at all at the exit from
Nablus or at the entrance. A line of about 30 pedestrians leaving Nablus,
being checked in 2 stations. A separate fast line for women and elderly men.
At the entrance to Nablus the inspection procedures are particulary strict.
Sometimes even the women and elderly men are checked. The soldiers are from a
reserve unit, receive us politely. We notice that one of them speaks Arabic
fluently. The soldiers report that there was a lot of pressure in the morning
since the passages at al-Bidan and Asira a-Shamaliyya were closed. So all of
the traffic was filtered through Beit Iba. Right now it is quiet.

15:40 – Several dozen entering Nablus, probably
because several vehicles had arrived together. Since there is only one line,
the inspection of the men is delayed, also women with babies in their arms.
But after a few minutes they go through. A Lieutenant Colonel arrives and
stays for a long time.

A man with an Israeli ID is detained and not allowed
to enter Nablus. Once in a while young men are detained next to the line.
Their IDs are checked against a list and sometimes taken to the computer. At
the end of the inspection (usually a few minutes) they are allowed to continue
on their way. Next to the inspection station at the entrance to Nablus, there
is a sort of "dressing" station of all the accessories that they have
to remove in order to pass successfully through the magnometer (especially
belts).

16:00 – Greater pressure in the line exiting Nablus.
At the side there is a pair of parents waiting for their son. According to the
length of time they have been waiting, we calculated that the wait in line was
more than half an hour.

In the vehicles line, about 3-4 cars at most. The
porters pass through all the time and are inspected quickly.

Two men arrive from the international organizations based in Tulkarm. They tell us about a long line at Anabta and that they waited
more than half an hour. Since they are new and inexperienced, they consult with us and ask a few questions. We leave for Anabta and just then one of the internationals comes over to us and report about a detainee. We asked him to stay in touch with us if he is not released soon.