Beit Iba, Mon 22.12.08, Morning

Beit Iba

07:25  Beit Iba

 There are many people entering Nablus on foot, many students, and  no inspections.

For people leaving, the usual embarrassment involved in passing through the magnemometer, having to empty your pockets, remove your belt, all this to go from Nablus to an Arab village.  Women and elderly men go through the humanitarian lane.

The soldiers, including MP’s, behave correctly – for example, they don’t require passengers in vehicles leaving Nablus to get out and go through the magnemometer.  But – there’s no way around it – if a vehicle lacks a permit to enter Nablus (something that isn’t checked on entry), it can’t leave via this checkpoint and will have to make a long detour through A-Sira, and don’t you dare call that harassment!!!  Because, of course, that prohibition prevents people from coming into Nablus from Tulkarm by taxi.  They have to drive to the checkpoint, get out of the taxi, go through on foot without any inspection, and then catch another taxi.

A vehicle without a permit was permitted to leave Nablus because it belongs to the Palestinian Authority.

But, some aspects of life in the territories continue normally.  One of the taxi drivers told us that they considered striking because they didn’t like it when the Authority lowered cab fares because the price of oil went down.