Beit Iba, Shave Shomron, Mon 9.3.09, Morning

Place:

Beit Iba

Shave Shomron

Observers:

Roni S., Osnat R. (reporting),Translator: Judith G.

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Mar-9-2009

Morning

09:00

After the turnoff to Shave Shomron, again a roadblock was erected where the road broadens to three lanes, rather mixed up (maybe on purpose, to prevent fast driving).

9:10 Beit Iba

Quiet in the pedestrian lane. There is also a closure info-icon today and a holiday for the birth of Mohammed. So the universities are closed and one sees more families.

The lane which is usually open for free passage into Nablus, has been closed with brick barricades without changing the road signs. The drivers are supposed to understand that they have to pass on the far right lane. Quite a few cars either enter without noticing that the lane is closed, or wait because they think that they are not supposed to pass through at all. Why should they make things easy and put up signs?

Many vehicles in line at the exit from Nablus. We counted at least 25 minutes for a truck that was in line when we arrived. There seem to be more private cars which got exit permits, according to Salah from the DCO, because of the holiday.

Salah said that the Beit Iba checkpoint is supposed to stop functioning, and there will be a checkpoint on the road before the turnoff to Shave Shomron. This will be a vehicle checkpoint only. The restrictions will still be in force on vehicles from Nablus without a permit for going through this checkpoint.

10:20 Shave Shomron

There are soldiers at the checkpoint, but they are not inspecting the vehicles.

Location Description

Shave Shomron

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The checkpoint is on Route 60 (the main road to the northern West Bank), opposite settlement. Has been blocked to Palestinians since disengagement from Gaza and northern Samaria.

Beit Iba

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A perimeter checkpoint west of the city of Nablus. Operated from 2001 to 2009 as one of the four permanent checkpoints info-icon closing on Nablus: Beit Furik and Awarta to the east and Hawara to the south. A pedestrian-only checkpoint, where MachsomWatch volunteers were present daily for several hours in the morning and afternoon to document the thousands of Palestinians waiting for hours in long queues with no shelter in the heat or rain, to leave the district city for anywhere else in the West Bank.
From March 2009, as part of the easing of the Palestinian movement in the West Bank, it was abolished, without a trace, and without any adverse change in the security situation.