'Anabta, Ar-Ras, Jubara (Kafriat), Qalqiliya, Thu 14.8.08, Morning
Qalqilia
06:45 – The vehicle passage is almost empty. We don't stop.
Anabta (After Beit Iba checkpoint)
09:05 – Entering and leaving vehicles are not checked. We left after 10 minutes.
Ar-Ras checkpoint
09:40 – At the checkpoint we meet a family (young parents with 2 children) that saw us before at Beit Iba checkpoint. It took them an hour and a half to get here. The mother has cancer and she wishes to go to Tel Hashomer hospital where she has an appointment made by her Israeli sister.
She has all the permits and documents of the Palestinian Authority and the hospital but she doesn't have a permit of the District Coordination Office (DCO). The soldier at the checkpoint wouldn't let her pass and drives the family of the shade area of the checkpoint telling them to move off. Rachel refers the woman to Zechariya from Rabbis for Human Rights and he explains to her what permits she needs to have in order to get the medical treatment.
A youth arrives on his bicycles from the direction of Jubara and wants to go on towards Tulkarm. It is not quite clear why but he is detained.
We try to talk to him and the soldiers keep sending him from one place of the checkpoint to another.
10:10 – The soldiers are on full alert, so that the detainee is still waiting. The soldiers have his ID card. Since none of us speak Arabic, our call to the District Coordination Office doesn't help much.
At 10:15 we have to leave.
At noon the DCO has still no answer concerning the detainee.