Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za'tara (Tapuah), Wed 27.8.08, Morning
Translation: Hanna K.
07:20 Tapuah-Za'tara Junction -
There are two vehicles coming from the west, six from the north. There is no pressure and the traffice flows
07:30 Beit Furik
A lively traffic of pedestrians in both directions. It is evident that the school-year has begun.
There is a dog on the site. The cars from both directions are checked by it too. He is made to enter and check both the seats and the trunk.
07:45 A red car of a modern make arrives from the direction of Nablus. The driver speaks Hebrew and looks like a typical Israeli young man. He seems to be arguing with the soldiers about something and suggests to them himself that they check with the dog. And indeed they do, in the engine aswell. His papers are checked at some distance from the car. The checking lasts about 7 minutes. Then the man is released and is allowed to continue.
07:55 Another shiny black car is checked with the dog, this time a car going into Nablus. At the end of the checking its driver pulls out a rag with an expression of sheer disgust and cleans all the seats, and only then goes on his way.
08:20 Huwwara
A small number of people passing, two active checking stations. From time to time the rear turnstiles get stuck a little. A Miltary Policewoman rudely shouts Yallah Yallah.
The movement into Nablus is lively.
The car traffic is sparse, more of cars coming from the south.
We draw the attention of the CP commander and the DCO representative to the way the soldier at the checking point talks. The commander admonishes her, and within a moment the style changes.
We didn't hear her raising her voice any more.
08:40 The checking is stopped for a few moments. According to the (new) DCO representative there isn't enough manpower, and the soldiers have to eat. He demands that another checking post be opened in order to avoid a long queue. In general he doesn't rest for a moment, pays attention to all the different "arenas", including that of the vehicles. In our opinion he fulfills his task exceptionally well.
09:00 The number of pedestrians at the CP increases all at once.
09:05 A new group of international delegates from the ecumenical church arrives at the CP. A veteran volunteer guides them. They have already heard about our activity and ask us questions about the CP routine. The commander and the DCO man join the conversation.
09:20 A few high-ranking officer from the DCO arrive, headed by Z., the direct commander. He asks for our opinions. We point to general weak points, also at Beit Iba. Except for the general complaint there is no specific complaint this morning, the CP is conducted quietly and efficiently under A.'s command, who also tends to listen to us and to talk to us.
09:50 The DCO crew patrols the CP and the parking lot too. When we went down to the parking lot we saw a small fire made deliberately, of cans and empty bottles at the eastern end, supposedly to liquidate garbage - but dangerous for the nearby cars and the material in question was good for recycling. We suggested to Z. from the DCO to enable putting up a receptacle or a nylon bag for collecting the garbage. Much preferable to sanctions known to us from the past and which he hinted at.
10:10 Tapuah-Za'tara junction - empty
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