'Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za'tara (Tapuah), Wed 3.12.08, Afternoon
Natanya translating.
14.30 Checkpoint of Za'tara.
30 cars waiting because the humanitarian centre said that the checking is more careful.
14.40 Huwwara.
One detainee. An elderly man who speaks Hebrew who had been wanted a year ago but not now. But every time that he goes through the checkpoint he is detained for a long time. Now he has been here for an hour.
The soldiers acted vulgarly towards him. "We told you to be quiet did we not? Put your cigarette out." I can not find out what his name or ID number is...the soldiers will not allow us to speak to him. After we phoned the centre at 15.00 the "wanted" man is freed. He comes out very angry and says to us "What are you doing here? Go home.:" The dogtrainer leaves. The x-ray device is working hard.
3 checking areas and a humanitarian line. The line is not long but the humanitarian is very long. The new checkpoint is being built. Israeli "efficiency" is developing and improving the occupation. Our friends meet an acquaintance from Nablus whom they had met at an Israeli Palestinian meeting a week previously at Akaba. A moment of happiness between the fences and pointed guns. The DCO representative, N., is not friendly. He tells the wanted man when he is freed that he must go to the DCO and ask for his name to be removed as being wanted.
15.40 Another friend of our guests arrives. It had taken him an hour to get through. We left them at Huwwara and go on to Beit Furik.
16.00 Awarta. A new bar on the road. A sign which says that the passage is for VIP.
16.15 Beit Furik.
The development of the occupation is obvious here as well. The cells which are being built around the Palestinians are changing. A new gate to the village of Beit Furik, next to the kiosk an yellow bar at the height of the cement. It seems that the checkpoint is being taken down and a new fence is around the building. Because of this the line of those leaving Beit Furik grows longer and longer and people do not go through. 10s of people wait. We cannot see the end of the cars' line.
The brigade commander chases us away rudely and Sharon goes to see the work which is being done. There are many soldiers and captains in the area. The brigade commander shouts at Sharon that she has to stand behind the white line. That he will arrest her and attack with violence. He adds a shove to his threats. "From my point of you you can complain. I will not answer questions.'
16.15 The tractor leaves. The women are freed. The men still wait. The truck leaves and the men too are freed and the checkpoint again starts to work. We leave at 16.20.
The kiosk owner says that from Sunday there will no longer be a checkpoint. Just the yellow bar at the entrance to the village and no checked. The bar will be open from 05.00 to 21.00. What will a woman in labour do at night. The kiosk also will go to the car park inside Nablus. Truly? One less checkpoint? Let us wait and see.
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