'Anabta, Beit Iba, Thu 13.11.08, Afternoon

Beit Iba, Anabta  

13.45    Qalqiliya checkpoint

Traffic is light in both directions, a line of about 6 cars entering at any one time, but with short waiting time.

14.15      Beit Iba

Five cars are in line to enter, checked one by one without a long delay.  At the exit there are about 6 vehicles including a truck and two busses.  All bus passengers descend, their documents are checked and they once again enter the bus next to the checkpoint. At the same time private cars pass in a parallel route in addition to the entry route to Nablus.  There are not many people in the shed – about a third full.

There are two checking positions in addition to the humanitarian line where the passage is rather quick.  Now and again they stop a man or woman and ask for a document.  Everything is very efficient and only the occasional whistles and shouts of the military police disturb the quiet.

Twenty men, women and children stream towards Nablus without checking.

14.30    The commander (relatively new) constantly tries to make us move away. He thinks we should stand outside the shed.  At last Tomer of the DCO arrives and explains to him that we are allowed to stand right next to the carousels opposite the checking position.  He also speeds up the exit in the humanitarian line. From arrival at the checkpoint the passage takes 5 minutes, and indeed there is an unceasing flow of pedestrians in both directions.

15.0        The shed fills up with more youths being checking. Waiting time is 20 minutes.  According to Tomer these are peak hours, Thursday between 13:00 and 15:00, when the students are returning from the university.

15.30    The pressure lessens, 15 minutes waiting time for pedestrians.  No cars are in line to enter.

15.40    We leave.

15.50    Anabta checkpoint

About 12 cars are waiting at the entrance, taxis and cars with Palestinian and Israeli number plates and are almost not checked at all.  5 to 6 cars exit at any stage, quickly.

16.10      We left.

We were not allowed to enter to Jubara. Both Nava and Elisheva said that there was nothing to be done – this has sometimes been the situation lately.  Thus we did not get to the Tulkarm checkpoints and did not return to Qalqiliya.