Beit Iba, Huwwara, Za'tara (Tapuah), Wed 20.2.08, Afternoon
Natanya translating.
14.10 Marda is open and at Zeita there are many cars at the checkpoint in the direction of the village. One of the taxi drivers says that the people are thinking of going to court with the problem of the barrier at the entrance.
14.20 Za'tara/Tapuach. About 5 cars and traffic passes steadily.
14.30 Huwwara.
At the entrance to Nablus is a boiler with a sink and taps.
Those entering Nablus are also checked and people say that this has been so for some days. Women do not have to wait. One of the captains says that last week two Dan buses were shot at and there are alerts and therefore those entering are checked. Under the shed it seems to be crowded but the line is not long and three turnstiles are working. Karin checks that the period of waiting is about half an hour and that the women do not wait. While we were there a bus was waiting at the exit and so it was hard to see how many cars were there. Also a man went into the isolation saying that he was bingo and a few minutes later a lad handcuffed and blindfolded followed him. T. from the DCO said that the boy had said that he was 14 and it turned out that he was 17. He had been in the hills with his flock without an ID and his brother had gone to fetch it. The claim was that he had been watching the checkpoint.
Some time later "bingo" was freed and the captain said that the boy would be arrested and that he could keep him there for three hours. "And that if they would come in half an hour (so we were told) he would be freed. T. said that they were waiting for the captain who had brought him and he himself went to speak to him. We left with heavy hearts before we knew what would happen to him but Milat gave T. her phone number asking him to phone when the boy would be freed.
16.10 Beit Iba.
Not much movement and here IDs are checked at the etgnrance. Because of a problem with the traffic lights a line of about 10 cars formed at the exit of Nablus and in the other direction a truck was sent back. In the meantime Tomer phoned to say that the boy had been freed 15 minutes earlier.