Beit Iba, Mon 1.12.08, Afternoon

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Observers: 
Elisheva A., Bilha A., Yona A. Chana S. translating
Dec-1-2008
|
Afternoon

15.0    On the way to Beit Iba, on route 60, about a kilometer from the village
Deir Sharaf, we notice new barriers on both sides of the road – a new checkpoint?
Temporary? Permanent?

 At Beit Iba a few Palestinian youths ask us to help a ten year-old who
has come with his brother without a document. They press us as we try to
contact the DCO to find  out details – they are disappointed and angrily ask us
why we come to checkpoints.

At the side of the road leading to Nablus stands a minivan, 5 men and 4 women
stand nearby carrying parcels and plastic bags. A male soldier and 2 women
soldiers and a dog check the car for more than 10 minutes.  After a thorough dog
check of the car, there is a a thorough check of bags .  Meanwhile a soldier
tells another private car on the way to Nablus
to stop.  The minivan passengers then return to their vehicle and drive in the
direction of Kosin.  In the private car, a Citroen Xsara, are three men who are
told to stand aside. A soldier opens the trunk and calls on of the men to empty
its contents: tools, an electric saw, a small generator, a drill, workclothes –
and to put them far from the car. Then the dog goes to work, smelling from the
outside, entering the trunk and the car itself. After 20 minutes, the three
passengers are given permission to return all the equipment and drive on. A
third car, VW Passat, is sent for checking. The driver has to stand aside, the
soldiers take out the few contents and empty the trunk and also the floor
covering of the trunk, the dog smells over and over the left side of the
trunk.  The soldiers dismantle the panel(?) but find nothing. After 20 minutes
they abandon the car and signal to the driver that he can have it back.  The
driver is a veterinarian who travels about the villages, according to him,
distributing medicines.

At the checkpoint there is light pedestrian traffic.  Those entering Nablus pass without
checking. A young man who was in detention when we arrived was released after
10 minutes.  Women exit in the quick lane without checking. The few young men
pass the carousels and magnometer and pass after their documents are checked.

16.15    On the way back, after the village Deir Sharaf we have to drive via a ‘bypass’
on the rocks on the south side of the road. A truck with a crane is stuck
across the road next to the new barriers and the soldiers say it will take a
while before they will be able it.   The soldiers don’t know the purpose of the
barriers.  A long line of cars drives on this bypass.  A large number of trucks
wait on the road as the rough bypass is unsuitable for loaded trucks.

After Kedumim, opposite the house that was formerly called Shevut Amit 
on the west side of the road, we notice 6 young men and women, a cloth
canopy/tent and a car.