Everybody has a story, and that of a Palestinian under the Israeli occupation will always be sad and harsh, full of despair and bitterness.
From a report:
Beit Iba Checkpoint (Nablus), Wednesday, 25.6.08 am
Observers: Rina Z, Inbal R (reporting)
No changes in the checkpoint routines. Not especially long lines. And yet, one morning, one checkpoint, two stories...
How to Create a Shahid - Interview With a Young Palestinian
Muhammad, resident of Bani Naim in the Hebron Mountains, speaks a quiet Hebrew, is skinny and very short, perhaps suffered from malnutrition. Aged 18, he ...
Huwwara Checkpoint
Observers: Meky S, Noa P (reporting)
15:00 Shouting can be heard. By the isolation lockup we discern A. (apparently the checkpoint commander), his back to us, and a Palestinian facing us, his back pushed against the concrete wall. The Palestinian is saying to the soldier: "I didn’t make you any problems whatsoever!" And the soldier – raises the cuffs he holds and whips the man’s hands! Red welts cover the hands.
I. from the DCO (District Coordinating Office) arrives quickly and talks with the man. Alongside him, soldier A. does nothing but talk while ...
Harsh Confrontation with a Checkpoint Soldier
Beit Iba Checkpoint, Thursday 17.4.08
Observers: Zvia S, Dalia G
An experience that has not let me be for a few days happened on Thursday afternoon at Bet Iba Checkpoint.
My partner Zvia and I saw five Palestinians being led by soldiers to the detainee compound. We did not know how many were sitting in the "pen" because it is difficult to see from the checkpoint plaza. The checking hut blocks the view.
I walked over to the compound to see what was happening, listening carefully for and shouts from behind calling me back. ...
No Defense for Palestinians
Against Attacks by Settlers and Soldiers
Who will defend Palestinians against settler and soldier attacks? Who will bring the attackers to trial? If the enemy is the one who has to protect you – he will not make an effort for you.
Extract from Hebron shift report, Wednesday, 19.3.08
Observers: Tzippi Z, Michal S (reporting)
We met Michael and Fawaz, both active in Btselem. Together we climbed to the Jebel el Ruheima neighbourhood, behind Tel Rumeida. We saw that it was easy to cross from there into the area of H1. There is no obstruction or ...
A Simple Story Becoming a Nightmare:
A Via Dolorosa of Checkpoint and Arbitrary Road Bloc
The road of tribulation travelled by a man living with his family in the village of Sara
on the West Bank, working (with permit) in Kfar Sava, staying overnight on workdays in Qalqiliya. All that he wants – to travel mid-week (Wednesday) from his workplace in Israel to his home in Saara, to his six year old daughter’s party (honoured as outstanding in her school), and to return to work in Kfar Sava next morning (Thursday).
Beit Iba Checkpoint (entrance to Nablus), Thursday, 28.2.08
Observers: Shoshana Z, Biria L, Nina S (reporting)
08:50 – a quiet morning. Few vehicles in line to enter. Passage is fast. There is a dog and minder.
At the entrance to Nablus we meet a man, who tells us tyhat at Jit (on his way from Sara to his job in Kfar Sava (in Israel), at 04:45, a soldier stopped him, took his ID card and work permit and left... Though he waited two hours, they did not return his papers. It seems that it was forbidden for him to leave Saara to Jit. Finally he gave up and continued to Beit Iba and, at ...
Route 443, Tuesday 15.1.08, am
Observers: Tamar B, Anat S (reporting)
05:00 - 06:15
On Route 443, five minutes from Modi’in and the communities of Maccabim and Reut, in the freezing cold of morning, starting at 05:00, the IDF brings together six conscript soldiers and 600 Palestinian workers, holders of permits to build the State of Israel.
Under the indifferent eyes of hundreds of Israeli drivers, who pass down the road without a glance, the escalation flourishes.
From 04:00 the workers crowd the area, hoping to be the first to pass and then start their day’s work. They light ...
At many checkpoints across the West Bank, separating between one Palestinian village and the next, routine has become fixed. The soldiers, working like bored union clerks, seal themselves tight (apparently by order), and allow passage at the checkpoint by permit only. That the permit is attached to a human being is an immaterial fact. That there are human beings without permits, but with a need to pass, is insufferable.
Such imperviousness is the opposite of applied judgment. The occupation does not permit the checkpoint soldiers to use their judgment, lest they are tempted to see the ...
What Are the Earnings of a Palestinian Labourer
and what Remains After "Occupation Offsetting"?
From a report:
Hebron and South Hebron Mountains, Wednesday, 25.7.07 pm
Observing & reporting: Edna S, Zippora Z
16:00 - 19:30
End of shift at Sansana Checkpoint:
18:15 - 19:15 at this hour there are no lines since the workers come in small groups (according to the size of the vehicles that bring them). Passage is fast – not more than five minutes. At 19:00 the crossing closes.
The workers said that they have permits to stay until 22:00, but they have ...
The members of MahsomWatch Try to Help the Palestinians Overcome the Hardships Caused by the Checkpoints because of the Soldiers’ and Army’s Contempt for Them as Human Beings. Will They Succeed?
Daphne B. Reporting
On Monday, 23.7.07, in the afternoon, ten workers returning from their jobs in the Jordan Rift Valley settlements to their homes in Tayasir, were asked to descend from the bus and use the pedestrian passage. Usually people crossing to the West Bank are not taken off, as are those who want to cross from the West Bank to the Jordan Valley.
Under the window where the ...
Military Court Ofer, 23.07.07, AM
Tova S., Nurit S., Roni H. (reporting)
Prosecution asked that the hearing of a witness be conducted behind closed doors, because MachsomWatch women would report everything said in the hearings.
In today's observation at Ofer we finally received long-awaited recognition that our words are being heard and read and this brings unease for the prosecution. In the course of the morning session, our presence and, of course, the disclosure of the court hearings was the main subject of the session. The judges decided in favor of disclosure and acceptance of ...
Nablus Checkpoints, Saturday, 30.6.07 AM
Observers and Reporters: Vivy T. and Hava H.
Translation: Hanna K.
Following Arik Asherman's request we meet at Beit Furik the two hidden righteous men – Uri Pinkerfeld and Buma Inbar, and accompanied them almost the entire day.
The aim was to observe, and if need be defend the harvesters from Saalem. It turned out that the harvesters had already finished harvesting, but there was still much to do. It is one thing to see the vice-grip of the checkpoints, the changing bureaucratic instructions, the Apartheid road, the wall between the villages ...
Prohibitions, Blocks and Roads Forbidden to Palestinians
Study of the list of prohibitions, blocks and the roads within the West Bank that are forbidden to Palestinians, throws light on the consideration for the fabric of life of the Palestinians under the rule of the Occupation.
A MachsomWatch report, in January 2007:
Prohibitions, Blocks and Roads Forbidden to Palestinians
Compiled and written: Noah P, Naomi L, Hanna B
Prohibitions
A. Permanent prohibitions
1. Gazan Palestinians are forbidden to stay in the West Bank.
2. The ...
Do the Internal Checkpoints on the West Bank Contribute to the Security of Israel, or Encourage Terror? For Whom and for What are they Erected?
An answer can be obtained from Ilan Paz, who was till recently Head of the Civilian Administration and commander of Binyamin and Menashe Regional Brigade. In an interview with Razi Barkai of Galei Zahal (IDF Radio), on Monday morning 30.4.07, he said:
The internal checkpoints in the West Bank must be removed, the humiliation that the checkpoints cause must be stopped. There will always be humiliation at the checkpoints, terrible things will ...
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