Weekly Digest
Weekly Digest 23.3.08-29.3.08
Report date:
04/04/2008
Content:
Bethlehem
Area
Sunday
AM, 23.3.08
AM, 23.3.08
07:00
Bethlehem CP: Purim closure. 2 windows open. A group of Italian pilgrims
cross to Jerusalem to go to church on this Easter Sunday. The shrill voices of
the female soldiers on the other side disturb the silence, railing the nerves.
Bethlehem CP: Purim closure. 2 windows open. A group of Italian pilgrims
cross to Jerusalem to go to church on this Easter Sunday. The shrill voices of
the female soldiers on the other side disturb the silence, railing the nerves.
Ezyon
DCL.
A soldier screams through the loudspeaker.
DCL.
A soldier screams through the loudspeaker.
Monday
PM, 24.3.08 , 15:00-18:00
PM, 24.3.08 , 15:00-18:00
Ezyon
DCL.
A hot day. Not a car parked, not a soul around, although this is after a week's
closure. Apparently everything is now
being dealt with at the Bethlehm DCL, to which we presently have no
access.
DCL.
A hot day. Not a car parked, not a soul around, although this is after a week's
closure. Apparently everything is now
being dealt with at the Bethlehm DCL, to which we presently have no
access.
Tunnel CP. A
long line of vehicles, but no
detainees.
long line of vehicles, but no
detainees.
Tuesday,
25.3.08, AM
25.3.08, AM
06:40,
Bethlehem CP. We hear shouts even before we enter the CP – another
ordinary morning in Bethlehem CP. Five checking posts are open. The crowding is
horrible. The security men and the soldiers in the booths try to put some order
in the mess by shouting and stopping to check documents altogether, and are
surprised that it doesn’t help. “They are animals,” complains a security man. He
looks authentically insulted by the incapacity of Palestinians to understand how
to behave nicely.
Bethlehem CP. We hear shouts even before we enter the CP – another
ordinary morning in Bethlehem CP. Five checking posts are open. The crowding is
horrible. The security men and the soldiers in the booths try to put some order
in the mess by shouting and stopping to check documents altogether, and are
surprised that it doesn’t help. “They are animals,” complains a security man. He
looks authentically insulted by the incapacity of Palestinians to understand how
to behave nicely.
About
twenty minutes later two policemen emerge from the offices, to see what is going
on, and then an army officer. Even the nice DCL rep from last week is there.
They all stand and watch, like us. So now there is a massive presence of law and
order in the CP, and still nothing changes. One policeman approaches us. He is
hurt by our reports. He wants us to note that it is all the fault of the army,
not the police’s. Why, at least, a sixth checking post is not opened? we ask.
The computer is out of order, is the expected answer. In the two and something
years that we are coming to Bethlehem CP we saw maybe five times that six posts
were functioning all at the same time.
twenty minutes later two policemen emerge from the offices, to see what is going
on, and then an army officer. Even the nice DCL rep from last week is there.
They all stand and watch, like us. So now there is a massive presence of law and
order in the CP, and still nothing changes. One policeman approaches us. He is
hurt by our reports. He wants us to note that it is all the fault of the army,
not the police’s. Why, at least, a sixth checking post is not opened? we ask.
The computer is out of order, is the expected answer. In the two and something
years that we are coming to Bethlehem CP we saw maybe five times that six posts
were functioning all at the same time.
We leave
at around 08:30, and people are still squeezed against each other in the
terrible crowding.
at around 08:30, and people are still squeezed against each other in the
terrible crowding.
Abu
Dis Area
Dis Area
Monday
AM, 24.3.08
AM, 24.3.08
Container
CP, 8am. A line of detained buses full
of pupils from Hebron and Bethlehem are on a day trip to Jericho. It is a very hot day, and some
(the teenagers) have been waiting over an hour while their Ids are being
checked. In the buses with young
children, only the teachers are being checked.
The procedure takes a very long time and the officer's cockiness causes
tension. When the long lines of other cars are finally let through, things start
moving in all
directions.
CP, 8am. A line of detained buses full
of pupils from Hebron and Bethlehem are on a day trip to Jericho. It is a very hot day, and some
(the teenagers) have been waiting over an hour while their Ids are being
checked. In the buses with young
children, only the teachers are being checked.
The procedure takes a very long time and the officer's cockiness causes
tension. When the long lines of other cars are finally let through, things start
moving in all
directions.
Monday
PM, 24.3.08
PM, 24.3.08
Olives
terminal. A terribly hot day. The terminal was almost deserted, though many
cars were in the parking lot.
terminal. A terribly hot day. The terminal was almost deserted, though many
cars were in the parking lot.
Container
CP. Many more BPs than usual. 3 detained
vehicles. After 10 minutes, all Ids were
returned and the CO told us to take cover, because there was going to be an
exercise, which we witnessed from the shop -- all 5 minutes of it. Traffic then
moved through very quickly.
CP. Many more BPs than usual. 3 detained
vehicles. After 10 minutes, all Ids were
returned and the CO told us to take cover, because there was going to be an
exercise, which we witnessed from the shop -- all 5 minutes of it. Traffic then
moved through very quickly.
Qalandiya Area
Sunday
PM, 23.3.08
PM, 23.3.08
15:50 Ar-Ram CP: Impressive presence of soldiers and civilian
security personnel. Absence of
Palestinians.
security personnel. Absence of
Palestinians.
16:09 Qalandiya: 50 people waiting before the northern
carousel, and lines in the 2 operating passageways were full. Suddenly another passageway opened, and the
entire crowd at the entrance flowed in.
carousel, and lines in the 2 operating passageways were full. Suddenly another passageway opened, and the
entire crowd at the entrance flowed in.
16:14: 25 people in each of the CP lines. The
carousels allowed 3 people at a time in. It took an average 3 minutes to check
the papers of each trio. At the vehicle checkpoint raffic was moving as
usual.
carousels allowed 3 people at a time in. It took an average 3 minutes to check
the papers of each trio. At the vehicle checkpoint raffic was moving as
usual.
16:40: Back at the pedestrian passages, again only 2
were operating and that the northern entrance was closed again. Time to pass was
about 20 minutes, till one computer crashed. People in its line waited 30
minutes without any explanation for the delay. The closure appeared to be
enforced selectively. Some green IDs were allowed to
pass.
were operating and that the northern entrance was closed again. Time to pass was
about 20 minutes, till one computer crashed. People in its line waited 30
minutes without any explanation for the delay. The closure appeared to be
enforced selectively. Some green IDs were allowed to
pass.
18:00 Bir
Nabala: 29 vehicles waiting. People
whose ID cards said Hebron or Nablus were not allowed into Bir Nabala, although
"everyone knows that many people from Hebron and Nablus have moved into Bir
Nabala, where rents dropped dramatically
after the original residents abandoned once it was encircled by the Wall", said
soldier. Drivers complained that lines at this CP are generally much
longer.
Nabala: 29 vehicles waiting. People
whose ID cards said Hebron or Nablus were not allowed into Bir Nabala, although
"everyone knows that many people from Hebron and Nablus have moved into Bir
Nabala, where rents dropped dramatically
after the original residents abandoned once it was encircled by the Wall", said
soldier. Drivers complained that lines at this CP are generally much
longer.
19:43 Hizmeh: A Red Crescent Ambulance had been waiting 40
minutes to take a woman in labor to Mukassad Hospital, for lack of a permit. She
was not even allowed to transfer to the ambulance, though the 3 crew members
swore they had the skills and equipment to deliver the baby safely in their
vehicle. We made some phone calls that
seemed to work -- the woman was shortly allowed into the ambulance -- but not
into a Jerusalem hosptial, on GSS instructions.
Although the ambulance crew recommended that the husband transfer his
wife to the Ramallah hospital in an ambulance, in view of the practical
certainty that she would give birth en route, he decided to take her in his own
car.
minutes to take a woman in labor to Mukassad Hospital, for lack of a permit. She
was not even allowed to transfer to the ambulance, though the 3 crew members
swore they had the skills and equipment to deliver the baby safely in their
vehicle. We made some phone calls that
seemed to work -- the woman was shortly allowed into the ambulance -- but not
into a Jerusalem hosptial, on GSS instructions.
Although the ambulance crew recommended that the husband transfer his
wife to the Ramallah hospital in an ambulance, in view of the practical
certainty that she would give birth en route, he decided to take her in his own
car.
Thursday,
27.3.08, AM
6:45,
Anata. Heavy traffic, but the two lanes of cars were moving relatively
smoothly. There were fewer than usual schoolchildren because of school
holidays.
Anata. Heavy traffic, but the two lanes of cars were moving relatively
smoothly. There were fewer than usual schoolchildren because of school
holidays.
8:00,
Qalandiya. No line at the carousels. There was a very large group of
prisoners’ families who passed through just at this time, using a couple of
gates.
Qalandiya. No line at the carousels. There was a very large group of
prisoners’ families who passed through just at this time, using a couple of
gates.
On
the other hand, the DCO opened only at 9:10, after a number of several phone
calls on our part. There were at least 20 people waiting by this time, one of
them on crutches (there really should be some seating provided at each gate).
They were directed to gate 4 – leaving the people waiting for the post office
confused as to where they should be. When we managed to catch the attention of
the breakfasting soldiers in the DCO office, they told these people to join the
line in gate 4. The soldier in the outside office managing the carousels (having
no work to do) seemed to be absorbed in a computer game for the entire time we
were there. When we did manage to make eye contact with her at one point so as
to ask for help, she totally ignored us.
the other hand, the DCO opened only at 9:10, after a number of several phone
calls on our part. There were at least 20 people waiting by this time, one of
them on crutches (there really should be some seating provided at each gate).
They were directed to gate 4 – leaving the people waiting for the post office
confused as to where they should be. When we managed to catch the attention of
the breakfasting soldiers in the DCO office, they told these people to join the
line in gate 4. The soldier in the outside office managing the carousels (having
no work to do) seemed to be absorbed in a computer game for the entire time we
were there. When we did manage to make eye contact with her at one point so as
to ask for help, she totally ignored us.
Nablus Area
Sunday,
23.3.08, PM
13:45,
Jit Junction. No CP.
Jit Junction. No CP.
14:17,
Beit Iba. Few vehicles are waiting to enter Nablus. The 3 pedestrian
lines are long and moving very slowly.
Beit Iba. Few vehicles are waiting to enter Nablus. The 3 pedestrian
lines are long and moving very slowly.
Several
young men are detained, but are released soon after their IDs are being
checked.
young men are detained, but are released soon after their IDs are being
checked.
Tuesday,
24.3.08, AM
07:30--08:15,
Beit Iba. The checkpoint is manned by reserve soldiers, as usual more
relaxed than the regulars. No lines form, not pedestrian nor vehicular. The
people entering Nablus pass without checking. At this time the checkpoint
usually teems with students. Not today, for some reason.
Beit Iba. The checkpoint is manned by reserve soldiers, as usual more
relaxed than the regulars. No lines form, not pedestrian nor vehicular. The
people entering Nablus pass without checking. At this time the checkpoint
usually teems with students. Not today, for some reason.
Sunday, 23.3.08,
PM
15:15,
Zaatara (Tapuach) Junction. Empty of vehicles.
Zaatara (Tapuach) Junction. Empty of vehicles.
15:30,
Huwwara. 3 active checking posts, x-ray truck. Pedestrian lines quite
full, and get much more crowded during our shift. The humanitarian line is
open.
Huwwara. 3 active checking posts, x-ray truck. Pedestrian lines quite
full, and get much more crowded during our shift. The humanitarian line is
open.
15:40.
A youngster is sent to the cubicle for 'educative' detention, not having been
servile enough in line.
A youngster is sent to the cubicle for 'educative' detention, not having been
servile enough in line.
In
the fierce sun, along the concrete ledge outside the exit area, a new post for
the women (nine of them) waiting for their male travel companions not yet done
with the checks.
the fierce sun, along the concrete ledge outside the exit area, a new post for
the women (nine of them) waiting for their male travel companions not yet done
with the checks.
The
line become full to bursting, endless in the suffocating
heat.
line become full to bursting, endless in the suffocating
heat.
16:40,
Beit Furiq. As usual at this time of day, a fair trickle of pedestrians,
and a
long line of about 35 cars outbound from Nablus. Cars inbound have to
wait long, too, until they're signaled in.
Beit Furiq. As usual at this time of day, a fair trickle of pedestrians,
and a
long line of about 35 cars outbound from Nablus. Cars inbound have to
wait long, too, until they're signaled in.
A
truck with 3 scrapped cars stands at the side of the CP entrance since
11 a.m.,
five and a half hours by the time we get there. Soldiers on the morning shift
took the driver's ID, no explanation given. He's been waiting since. We call the
army hotline, then the DCL who promise to look into it. They also inform us that
a Beit Furiq resident's truck needs an entry permit to Nablus. That is an
innovation.
truck with 3 scrapped cars stands at the side of the CP entrance since
11 a.m.,
five and a half hours by the time we get there. Soldiers on the morning shift
took the driver's ID, no explanation given. He's been waiting since. We call the
army hotline, then the DCL who promise to look into it. They also inform us that
a Beit Furiq resident's truck needs an entry permit to Nablus. That is an
innovation.
And
this is what we learn of the following surreal development: For the past several
days there are new instructions in the region – trucks delivering scrapped cars
into Nablus require specialized inspection. Today the specialist is absent, so
the driver at hand has been ordered to while away what by now has become six
hours (and running).
this is what we learn of the following surreal development: For the past several
days there are new instructions in the region – trucks delivering scrapped cars
into Nablus require specialized inspection. Today the specialist is absent, so
the driver at hand has been ordered to while away what by now has become six
hours (and running).
On
our way home, after 18:30, we learn that he has just been released. No
specialist inspection.
This man waited with no explanations offered from
11 a.m.
until 6:30 p.m. due to a new draconian, un-enforceable regulation. Naturally
seven and a half hours' waiting at a checkpoint do not entail any explanation
for the victim.
our way home, after 18:30, we learn that he has just been released. No
specialist inspection.
This man waited with no explanations offered from
11 a.m.
until 6:30 p.m. due to a new draconian, un-enforceable regulation. Naturally
seven and a half hours' waiting at a checkpoint do not entail any explanation
for the victim.
Thursday,
27.3.08, PM
2:38
PM–5:25 PM, Beit Iba. The pedestrian passage from Nablus was very
difficult. The number of people waiting in line when we arrived was long, and
doubled and even tripled an hour later. The DCO (District Coordination Office)
representative on duty who was there from the morning, left at 3:20, just when
things began to build up to their maximum. We had called the Humanitarian Hot
line and the DCO any number of times before help actually
came.
PM–5:25 PM, Beit Iba. The pedestrian passage from Nablus was very
difficult. The number of people waiting in line when we arrived was long, and
doubled and even tripled an hour later. The DCO (District Coordination Office)
representative on duty who was there from the morning, left at 3:20, just when
things began to build up to their maximum. We had called the Humanitarian Hot
line and the DCO any number of times before help actually
came.
3:40.
About 200 people on the "humanitarian line" and about 400 to 500 on the young
men's line. At the entrance to the turnstile the crowd is about 10 people wide
all trying to vie for that precious but elusive spot which will led to the exit.
Waiting
time was anywhere from an hour to an hour and forty minutes. A man entering the
checking area leaves his bags, phone, etc. on a shelf and gives the ID to the
MP. He then steps through the metal detector doorway. If it buzzes he goes back
and has to figure out what is causing the buzz. Sometimes he has to go back 4 or
5 times. We noticed that the buzzing mechanism buzzes at random intervals
regardless if someone is passing through the door way or not. Another serious
problem is that one of the MPs has to stop her work of checking those on line
from Nablus whenever the commanding officer brings her an ID he wants checked
from either the side line or the line of pedestrians going into
Nablus.There
was a detainee since 12. He was released at 3:40. Near the end of the shift 5
detainees were brought to the area because they had tried to avoid the CP. They
were kept for about an hour. Waiting
time at the humanitarian line was about 40 minutes. As a result, more urgent
cases started to form a line to the side of this line. Depending on the judgment
of the soldier, they were sent back to the end of the line or not. One man in
his 60's was even told to go to the back of the young man's line as punishment
for trying to side track the "humanitarian line."
About 200 people on the "humanitarian line" and about 400 to 500 on the young
men's line. At the entrance to the turnstile the crowd is about 10 people wide
all trying to vie for that precious but elusive spot which will led to the exit.
Waiting
time was anywhere from an hour to an hour and forty minutes. A man entering the
checking area leaves his bags, phone, etc. on a shelf and gives the ID to the
MP. He then steps through the metal detector doorway. If it buzzes he goes back
and has to figure out what is causing the buzz. Sometimes he has to go back 4 or
5 times. We noticed that the buzzing mechanism buzzes at random intervals
regardless if someone is passing through the door way or not. Another serious
problem is that one of the MPs has to stop her work of checking those on line
from Nablus whenever the commanding officer brings her an ID he wants checked
from either the side line or the line of pedestrians going into
Nablus.There
was a detainee since 12. He was released at 3:40. Near the end of the shift 5
detainees were brought to the area because they had tried to avoid the CP. They
were kept for about an hour. Waiting
time at the humanitarian line was about 40 minutes. As a result, more urgent
cases started to form a line to the side of this line. Depending on the judgment
of the soldier, they were sent back to the end of the line or not. One man in
his 60's was even told to go to the back of the young man's line as punishment
for trying to side track the "humanitarian line."
Because
the wait on all the lines was so long, people looked for alternatives. Some
young women climbed into a full minibus and stood until the minibus made it to
the CP. However, the soldier at the CP forced them back on line saying it was
illegal to stand in a minibus. A crippled person managed to get a ride on a
donkey wagon. A young mother got her 3 children into a wagon pushed by a porter
in order to get through the CP.
the wait on all the lines was so long, people looked for alternatives. Some
young women climbed into a full minibus and stood until the minibus made it to
the CP. However, the soldier at the CP forced them back on line saying it was
illegal to stand in a minibus. A crippled person managed to get a ride on a
donkey wagon. A young mother got her 3 children into a wagon pushed by a porter
in order to get through the CP.
The
vehicle traffic varied from 3 to 9 vehicles on line to Nablus. Checking each
vehicle took anywhere from 30 seconds to 10 minutes.
vehicle traffic varied from 3 to 9 vehicles on line to Nablus. Checking each
vehicle took anywhere from 30 seconds to 10 minutes.
The
vehicle traffic from Nablus varied from 1 to 10 vehicles on line. Checking each
vehicle was anywhere from a minute to 12 minutes.
vehicle traffic from Nablus varied from 1 to 10 vehicles on line. Checking each
vehicle was anywhere from a minute to 12 minutes.
2:30,
Jit Junction. Unmanned, also on our way back at 5:43.
Jit Junction. Unmanned, also on our way back at 5:43.
Qalqiliya Area
Sunday,
23.3.08, PM
13:09,
Habla. Empty.
Habla. Empty.
13:22,
Qalqilya. A long line of vehicles waiting to exit Qalqilya; no vehicles
on the other side.
Qalqilya. A long line of vehicles waiting to exit Qalqilya; no vehicles
on the other side.
15:27,
Anabta. No vehicles entering Tulkarm; about 14 coming out. Checking is
random on both sides.
15:50, Jubara. Uneventful
Anabta. No vehicles entering Tulkarm; about 14 coming out. Checking is
random on both sides.
15:50, Jubara. Uneventful
16:11,
Ar-Ras. Uneventful
Ar-Ras. Uneventful
16:30,
Gate 753.Three youths are detained.
Gate 753.Three youths are detained.
Tuesday,
24.3.08, AM
06:50--07:10,
Qalqilya. No queues. Vehicles come in and out without
checking.
Qalqilya. No queues. Vehicles come in and out without
checking.
A
young man loitering with the taxi drivers gives vent to his anger. Five minutes
before our arrival, he says, 2 army vehicles entered the city "to make arrests".
They shoot. Just like that. "They kill, kill, men, children, they don't care."
He himself is waiting outside "so as not to be killed".
young man loitering with the taxi drivers gives vent to his anger. Five minutes
before our arrival, he says, 2 army vehicles entered the city "to make arrests".
They shoot. Just like that. "They kill, kill, men, children, they don't care."
He himself is waiting outside "so as not to be killed".
Azun.
The entrance from Rd 55 is still blocked. No army
vehicles.
The entrance from Rd 55 is still blocked. No army
vehicles.
08:45--09:10,
Anabta. The line of vehicles coming out of the city seems long, but the
passage is fairly quick.
Anabta. The line of vehicles coming out of the city seems long, but the
passage is fairly quick.
09:20--10:20,
Jubara & Ar-Ras. Again we had to wait for permission to enter the
village.
Jubara & Ar-Ras. Again we had to wait for permission to enter the
village.
At
Ar-Ras there is a dog-handler, but no cars were checked. Ecumenical volunteers
stationed in Tulkarm told us that there is a demolition order for a house
belonging to Jubara but situated just outside the village, in what is now a
military area. Surprisingly, they were allowed to walk on the military road and
visit the people. Apparently
B'Tselem and other organizations are involved.
Ar-Ras there is a dog-handler, but no cars were checked. Ecumenical volunteers
stationed in Tulkarm told us that there is a demolition order for a house
belonging to Jubara but situated just outside the village, in what is now a
military area. Surprisingly, they were allowed to walk on the military road and
visit the people. Apparently
B'Tselem and other organizations are involved.
Hebron
Area
Sunday AM, 16.3.08 Meitar-Sansana. A long queue. Passage from the end of the queue through the CP took about 30 minutes. The Palestinians said this slow pace was due to our presence. One man showed us his permit to be in Israel issued by the Ministry of the Interior, valid 13.3.08-13.9.08, yet was not let through. No reason given, none known. Hebron, No detainees at any of the CPs. A municipal employee who came to the CP at the Patriarchs' Tomb was allowed through after leaving his ID with the soldier there, to be given back upon his return from work. We were told that this arrangement depended on the whim of the soldier.
Weekly Digest 16.3.08-22.3.08
Report date:
04/04/2008
Content:
Bethlehem
Area
Monday PM, 17.3.08
15:00-17:30Hebron Road. An impromptu CP across from Mar Elias. 4 detainees had to sign the infamous forms and were sitting on the sidewalk.Bethlehem CP. Very crowded. A large group of German tourists were trying to squeeze their way back into Jerusalem. They noted that the soldiers behaved very harshly towards the Palestinians. The proceedings are extremely degrading indeed. Three civil security guards were on duty and 4 windows open. Only one hand-machine was operable. A female soldier was on the phone constantly, meanwhile slowly checking documents and signaling with the well-known hand-movement. The wait was never over 10 minutes.Tuesday, 18.3.08, AMThe computer was revived some 30 minutes later, and a 6th post opened. Pressure alleviated at 07:45, and by 8am the CP was clear on both sides.Wednesday AM, 19.3.08need for the card. However, he does travel sometimes to Nablus. He was told to get such an affidavit from the bus company and reapply.
Wednesday PM,19.3.0817.00 The young man's ID was returned.
Abu
Dis Area
Monday AM, 17.3.0808:00 Container CP. All smooth, no detainees. Some cars are being checked and that's it.Monday PM, 17.3.08Tuesday PM, 18.3.08Wednesday PM, 19.3.08A-Ram
– Qalandiya Area
Monday AM, 17.3.0806:45 Anata. Traffic is massive , mostly workers. Some elderly women lacking proper papers are sent back. The 2 officers on duty are pleasant and keep all calm. One BP who got nervous when a 6 year old touched his gun was immediately calmed down by them, All runs fast and uneventful, despite last nights' wild attacks in Jabel Mukaber.Tuesday PM, 18.3.08Thursday AM, 20.3.0806.20 Anata Few pedestrians, but many cars. All trunks checked. No schoolchildren or schoolbuses -- school holiday.07.00 Qalandiya. Fewer cars than usual in the carpark. Again only 2 carousels operating. People waiting outside are particularly tense and all bunch up, some trying to climb up over the fence. The men are not even willing to allow women to the head of the queue. In the last 4 weeks the situation in the CP has worsened considerably. A large group of people was waiting to pass through the special gate for women and teachers etc., but it took our intervention for the gate to be opened, 10 minutes later. But later when there were a number of women waiting there again, they wouldn't open the gate again. All 5 gates were open, but processing seemed slow, through no fault of the soldier, who was sensible and kind. One woman was struggling with a crying baby at gate 5 for almost an hour. It turned out that she was waiting for the DCL to open. It didn't open on time (8:30), but did finally open at 8:45. A few minutes afte 8 there was no crowd at the carousels, but when we left at 9 only 2 gates were open and there was again a line of people waiting at the carousels..Nablus Area
Sunday, 16.3.08, PM
14:10, Jit
Junction. No checkpoint.
15:24, Beit
Iba. All the lines (the 2 turnstiles and the Humanitarian line) are crowded
and long. People complain that they are waiting for 2 hours. The soldiers are
shouting.
At the vehicle post
there are many soldiers, and several of them are standing around in small groups
talking and laughing and taking their time, which they have plenty of. Men under
35 are being removed from buses and sent to the end of the pedestrian queue to
be checked.
15:35, Jit
Junction. Army is present. 5 vehicles coming up from Beit Iba are waiting in
line.
Tuesday, 18.3.08,
AM
Jit
Junction.
Unmanned.
07:25--09:00,
Beit Iba. Most passers are students. All young men entering Nablus pass a
thorough ID check.
Vehicles, both
entering and exiting the city, are checked thoroughly as well. This applies to
hand-carts and donkey-carts as well, coming in or out. Everybody has to go on
foot: an octogenarian who can hardly walk or many mothers carrying tiny babies
in their arms (apparently there is some kind of clinic today).
Thursday, 20.3.08
PM
14:51, Beit
Iba. The porters come to speak with us when we arrive. The soldiers won't
let them bring through vegetables and oil as they usually
do.
Two men are detained
in the compound. After we arrive, the CP commander orders one to be released.
The other tells us he was caught sitting in a car far from the CP and the
soldiers claim he was trying to bypass the CP.
Next to the CP there
is a truck. The passengers and driver have been there for three hours because
when one of the soldiers told them to turn the truck in its place they
accidentally made a dent in one of the small plastic polls that are there. The
soldiers have called the police. A soldier makes a 50 year old man go back and
shut a gate in the fence which the man didn't even know he was supposed to shut.
People call us from
the Tiasir CP to say that no cars have been let through for the last two and a
half hours.
16:10. A young man
is detained. They check the his bags, making him place all the items on the
dusty ground and then push him into the compound.
Today even the women
and the elderly going into Nablus are being checked, but the soldier in charge
has a short attention span, so he wanders off, only returning to yell at the
people who didn't realize they were supposed to stop and wait in the first
place.
The police arrive
and after taking down the soldiers' account and the Palestinians' IDs, let the
people go. The soldier tries to convince the officer that the offence was
grave.
16:35. As we left,
the detainee was still in the compound.
We stopped at Dir
Sharaf to visit a friend who showed us photos of the vandalism done to his
sister's house by soldier invaders last week. Such events occur daily, still, I
recommend that anyone reading this report look at these photos, available on our
website. His sister will not complain because she's afraid. The people kidnapped
by the soldiers were released three days later.
Qalqiliya Area
Sunday, 16.3.08, PM
13:20,
Qalqilya. No vehicles entering Qalqilya, a few coming from the city.
Palestinian vehicles are mostly being waved in with little or no check. Israeli
cars are being checked.
14:00,
Azun. Closed.
Tuesday, 18.3.08,
AM
06:40--07:10,
Qalqilya. Vehicles (Authority plates only) come in and out of the city
almost without checking. No lines form.
Azun. The
sand piles and boulders are still there.
09:15--09:30,
Anabta. Vehicles pass without checking. Near the pillbox a military jeep
is parked. A pedestrian student is summoned to what seems like a hush-hush
conversation. An attempt to enlist him to something such as we've witnessed in
the past? After a few minutes he is sent away.
09:40--10:30,
Jubara & Ar-Ras. All is quiet. At
gate 735 (former Children's Gate), hardly any vehicles
pass.
Thursday, 20.3.08,
PM
13:40, Ras
Tire. Soldiers are standing at a gate in the separation fence checking
people who wish to pass through. Right now these are three children on a donkey
and cart. The soldiers tell us the gate is closed every day between 6:30 PM to
6:30 AM. During the day only residents of the adjoining villages and people who
hold special permits are allowed through.
14:05,
Qalqilya. Three young people arrive in carnival masks and make up and
hand the soldiers huge bags of candy for 'Purim', the male has a real gun. The
people who wish to enter or exit Qalqilya are subject to a short
interrogation.
Azun. The
entrance is still blocked with razor wire and dirt
mounds.
Signs by the side of
the road:
Hebrew labor and
Jewish shopping - the times call for it!
We've had enough of
contempt - legal aid for Jews against the legal system
At the end of the
mourning period we'll rise and do the deed…destroy the terrorist's
house!
14:40, Jit
junction. Unmanned.
17:27,
Anabta. 10 cars coming from Tulkarm, 7 from the other direction. One of
the cars doesn't stop far enough from the soldier, so he thinks.
17:47,
Jubara. No activity around the gate.
The children's
gate. Seven work seekers
upon their return from Israel sit by the side of the road with many bags and
packages. They have been here for half an hour. People who wish to enter the
village are registered on a piece of paper, and given a two digit number which
they must remember to tell the soldiers upon exit (besides the routine ID
check). The soldiers call out to the men to bring their IDs and make some calls
over the radio. At seven PM the men are allowed through.
Ar-Ras.
Checking of vehicles and pedestrians is done in complete darkness. The soldiers
light up drivers' faces with a flash light.
Hebron
AreaSunday AM, 16.3.08
Weekly Digest 9.3.08-15.3.08
Report date:
04/04/2008
Content:
Sunday
AM, 9.3.08
AM, 9.3.08
07:00
Bethlehem: Sign of today's
closure are easy to see. No workers on the roadside and no minibuses or
employers around. At the CP only one booth open, and almost no work for it. Many
security personnel. Those crossing are all humanitarian cases, and though few,
it takes half an hour to cross.
Bethlehem: Sign of today's
closure are easy to see. No workers on the roadside and no minibuses or
employers around. At the CP only one booth open, and almost no work for it. Many
security personnel. Those crossing are all humanitarian cases, and though few,
it takes half an hour to cross.
08:00
Ezyon: Quiet and hazy. A GSS denied man who is petitioning the High Court
comes to sign documents. 2 employers are
spotted cursing. They leave the DCL with
rapid steps, their employees running after them trying to figure out what will
happen to them now. It gives one the shivers to watch the
scene.
Ezyon: Quiet and hazy. A GSS denied man who is petitioning the High Court
comes to sign documents. 2 employers are
spotted cursing. They leave the DCL with
rapid steps, their employees running after them trying to figure out what will
happen to them now. It gives one the shivers to watch the
scene.
Tuesday,
11.3.08, AM
11.3.08, AM
06:30,
Bethlehem CP. 6 posts
functioning. Crowded, but things were not as bad as in previous weeks.
Alleviated on both sides at around 07:30.
Bethlehem CP. 6 posts
functioning. Crowded, but things were not as bad as in previous weeks.
Alleviated on both sides at around 07:30.
08:15,
Ezyon DCL. Empty.
Ezyon DCL. Empty.
Wednesday
PM, 13.3.08
PM, 13.3.08
Ezyon
DCL,
16:00. The DCL supervision unit
confiscated a couple of trucks and other mechanicalequipment from a Beit Umar
resident who kept his garage equipment on route 60. They deamnded that he "clean up the area"
from all his stuff, and would then get the confiscated things back. He did.
He has been coming again and again to the DCL for his belongings, and has
been told again and again: "Come
tomorrow". We intervened on his
behalf. The outcome? "Tell him to come
tomorrow".
DCL,
16:00. The DCL supervision unit
confiscated a couple of trucks and other mechanicalequipment from a Beit Umar
resident who kept his garage equipment on route 60. They deamnded that he "clean up the area"
from all his stuff, and would then get the confiscated things back. He did.
He has been coming again and again to the DCL for his belongings, and has
been told again and again: "Come
tomorrow". We intervened on his
behalf. The outcome? "Tell him to come
tomorrow".
Bethlehem
CP,
16:45. No queue, people pour out of the
transits, and rush through, it only takes minutes.
CP,
16:45. No queue, people pour out of the
transits, and rush through, it only takes minutes.
Abu
Dis Area
Dis Area
Monday
AM, 10.3.08
AM, 10.3.08
Container
CP. A number of shuttle taxies waiting for
the ID cards of their passengers to be
returned. 9 detained men in the
soldiers' station, some, apparently, for up to 2 hours.
CP. A number of shuttle taxies waiting for
the ID cards of their passengers to be
returned. 9 detained men in the
soldiers' station, some, apparently, for up to 2 hours.
Wednesday PM,
12.3.08
12.3.08
Container
CP,
15:00: Long queues in both directions. However, soon after the lines dwindled
considerably and most cars were waved through. 2 detainees are released within a
few minutes of our arrival. A woman down the road is speaking to one of the BP
agitatedly. She is forcefully escorted to the pen. Apparently her son-in-law is
incarcerated in the locked booth next to the pen. She would not adhere to orders
to stay put in the car, therefore the punitive measure. Every now and then cabs
and cars are randomly stopped for a check. It usually takes a few
minutes.
CP,
15:00: Long queues in both directions. However, soon after the lines dwindled
considerably and most cars were waved through. 2 detainees are released within a
few minutes of our arrival. A woman down the road is speaking to one of the BP
agitatedly. She is forcefully escorted to the pen. Apparently her son-in-law is
incarcerated in the locked booth next to the pen. She would not adhere to orders
to stay put in the car, therefore the punitive measure. Every now and then cabs
and cars are randomly stopped for a check. It usually takes a few
minutes.
!5:40:
Pedestrians arrive in large groups, their IDs checked and their plastic bags
opened. Meanwhile, a long queue of vehicles has formed. Why?
One driver threw his cigarette butt out of the car. He is ordered to get
out and pick it up. Another driver is
instructed to reverse because he came too close to the checking point by some
5
meters. This too slows things
down.
Pedestrians arrive in large groups, their IDs checked and their plastic bags
opened. Meanwhile, a long queue of vehicles has formed. Why?
One driver threw his cigarette butt out of the car. He is ordered to get
out and pick it up. Another driver is
instructed to reverse because he came too close to the checking point by some
5
meters. This too slows things
down.
15:45:
Some 50 pedestrians are crowded in front of the turnstile which has not been
opened. When it does, they go thru quickly. The woman and her son in law are
released, as arbitrarily as they were detained.
A white car has been waiting for over 20 minutes. We are forbidden to
talk to the passengers.
Some 50 pedestrians are crowded in front of the turnstile which has not been
opened. When it does, they go thru quickly. The woman and her son in law are
released, as arbitrarily as they were detained.
A white car has been waiting for over 20 minutes. We are forbidden to
talk to the passengers.
16:00:
The white detained car is joined by another. 10 minutes later both cars are
allowed to go on their way.
The white detained car is joined by another. 10 minutes later both cars are
allowed to go on their way.
16:20:
An ambulance from Ramallah transfers a patient into an ambulance from Bethlehem.
An ambulance from Ramallah transfers a patient into an ambulance from Bethlehem.
Qalandiya Area
Monday
AM, 10.3.08
06:50
Anata CP. Voluminous traffic.
Hundreds of schoolchildren, and people with blue IDs, none with green. The
garbage piles are staggering. A large number of BP check the cars
fast.
Anata CP. Voluminous traffic.
Hundreds of schoolchildren, and people with blue IDs, none with green. The
garbage piles are staggering. A large number of BP check the cars
fast.
Monday
PM, 10.3.08 , 14:00-17:30
PM, 10.3.08 , 14:00-17:30
Anata. Hundreds of
schoolchildren pouring out of busses, many near-accident situations, because
cars ignore them as they walk the long way home.
schoolchildren pouring out of busses, many near-accident situations, because
cars ignore them as they walk the long way home.
Atara. Quite a long line of cars in both directions,
but shortly the lines had been reduced.
Drivers waved at us and begged us to return every day. Occasionally a yellow cab was stopped, trunk
and documents inspected. Usually within 5 minutes the car was sent on its
way.
but shortly the lines had been reduced.
Drivers waved at us and begged us to return every day. Occasionally a yellow cab was stopped, trunk
and documents inspected. Usually within 5 minutes the car was sent on its
way.
Thursday
AM, 13.3.08
AM, 13.3.08
06.40
Anata: A HUGE line of cars, honking desperately. About 10 soldiers and civil
security people altogether. Every car is being checked. Pedestrian passage is
smooth.
Anata: A HUGE line of cars, honking desperately. About 10 soldiers and civil
security people altogether. Every car is being checked. Pedestrian passage is
smooth.
07.
20 Ar-Ram: Smooth passage. No car queues in either direction. Pupils'
schoolbags are checked.
20 Ar-Ram: Smooth passage. No car queues in either direction. Pupils'
schoolbags are checked.
07.40
Qalandiya. Hell. Only one turnstile working. They keep breaking down, apparently. The
crowd is quite large, and when the turnstile opens, people push to get ahead,
and climb over the turnstile. It took 35 (!) minutes to get through the external
turnstile. The line for women and students opened quite regularly. Many
prisoners' families came and apparently will be let through only after the crowd
dwindles, an hour later.
Area
Qalandiya. Hell. Only one turnstile working. They keep breaking down, apparently. The
crowd is quite large, and when the turnstile opens, people push to get ahead,
and climb over the turnstile. It took 35 (!) minutes to get through the external
turnstile. The line for women and students opened quite regularly. Many
prisoners' families came and apparently will be let through only after the crowd
dwindles, an hour later.
Nablus
Area
Sunday,
9.3.08, PM
14:00,
Jit Junction. No checkpoint at this hour.
Jit Junction. No checkpoint at this hour.
14:10,
Deir Sharaf. A woman tells us that the day before, at around 2:30 in the
afternoon, about 15 jeeps tore along the dirt road and stopped by her house.
About 30 or more soldiers proceeded to order all the neighbors, from the
surrounding ten houses, to assemble in her courtyard, relieved everybody of
their phones, and proceeded to run amok. We went into three of the houses that
were wrecked. Cupboards turned over and bedding strewn all over the floor,
furniture, including sofas, stuffed chairs and tables, torn apart, walls covered
with soot from smoke bombs, a computer destroyed, money stolen. Apparently, the
jeeps and soldiers’ arrival were a result of three young students being accosted
on the main road, coming from Beit Iba. They were stopped on the main road by
soldiers, demanding to know where they lived. The three friends were taken away
by the soldiers, and, of course, it is not known where.
Deir Sharaf. A woman tells us that the day before, at around 2:30 in the
afternoon, about 15 jeeps tore along the dirt road and stopped by her house.
About 30 or more soldiers proceeded to order all the neighbors, from the
surrounding ten houses, to assemble in her courtyard, relieved everybody of
their phones, and proceeded to run amok. We went into three of the houses that
were wrecked. Cupboards turned over and bedding strewn all over the floor,
furniture, including sofas, stuffed chairs and tables, torn apart, walls covered
with soot from smoke bombs, a computer destroyed, money stolen. Apparently, the
jeeps and soldiers’ arrival were a result of three young students being accosted
on the main road, coming from Beit Iba. They were stopped on the main road by
soldiers, demanding to know where they lived. The three friends were taken away
by the soldiers, and, of course, it is not known where.
14:45,
Beit Iba. About three dozen men in the regular checking lines. A lot of
soldiers. As we arrive, a young man is led to the detention
compound.
Beit Iba. About three dozen men in the regular checking lines. A lot of
soldiers. As we arrive, a young man is led to the detention
compound.
A., the commander, comes to where we’re
standing, “That’s the area of the checkpoint. You can’t stand there.” We insist
that this is where we always stand. Without further ado, he closes the
checkpoint. As we move back from the checkpoint it is once again opened. The
entire incident takes but a few minutes.
standing, “That’s the area of the checkpoint. You can’t stand there.” We insist
that this is where we always stand. Without further ado, he closes the
checkpoint. As we move back from the checkpoint it is once again opened. The
entire incident takes but a few minutes.
15:10.
It’s hard to see, from our vantage point, how many vehicles are in the line to
exit Nablus, not
many.
It’s hard to see, from our vantage point, how many vehicles are in the line to
exit Nablus, not
many.
A
final note: during this shift, we phoned the Humanitarian Center to find out about “closure” in the
OPT today. We got no straight answers at all as to where there was closure, or
if there was closure.
final note: during this shift, we phoned the Humanitarian Center to find out about “closure” in the
OPT today. We got no straight answers at all as to where there was closure, or
if there was closure.
Qalqiliya Area
Sunday,
9.3.08, PM
12:40,
Habla. A Palestinian Israeli family, innumerable packages and two hot and
impatient children arrive at the agricultural gate, hoping to visit family on
the other side. The commander, taking his time to call in the ID numbers of the
Israeli family eventually tells them that the “list” on which their names may
appear is not with him, but at another crossing point, with which there is no
“connection.” It’s nearing closing time, and he is anxious to get rid of
problems before he begins closing the gate at 12:59. So no family visit.
Habla. A Palestinian Israeli family, innumerable packages and two hot and
impatient children arrive at the agricultural gate, hoping to visit family on
the other side. The commander, taking his time to call in the ID numbers of the
Israeli family eventually tells them that the “list” on which their names may
appear is not with him, but at another crossing point, with which there is no
“connection.” It’s nearing closing time, and he is anxious to get rid of
problems before he begins closing the gate at 12:59. So no family visit.
12:
55, Qalqilya. Not much traffic in either
direction.
55, Qalqilya. Not much traffic in either
direction.
13:30,
Azun. A Palestine Red
Crescent ambulance enters what was once the access
road to the town, stops, and a father and little girl emerge. They wander round
the edge of the mountains of earth, the tangles of barbed wire and wind their
way carefully homewards.
Azun. A Palestine Red
Crescent ambulance enters what was once the access
road to the town, stops, and a father and little girl emerge. They wander round
the edge of the mountains of earth, the tangles of barbed wire and wind their
way carefully homewards.
17:00,
Anabta. Little traffic. Israeli cars pass freely. No line to Tulkarm;
from the city, only seven. A yellow taxi is stopped, all IDs taken from the men
inside, checked by the commander inside the military tower, an operation that
takes three minutes. Taxi drivers waiting for passengers, in their usual parking
spot, tell us that today, at 14:00, a jeep came to tell them that they could no
longer stand where they do (meaning, of course, that their livelihoods would be
wrecked).
Anabta. Little traffic. Israeli cars pass freely. No line to Tulkarm;
from the city, only seven. A yellow taxi is stopped, all IDs taken from the men
inside, checked by the commander inside the military tower, an operation that
takes three minutes. Taxi drivers waiting for passengers, in their usual parking
spot, tell us that today, at 14:00, a jeep came to tell them that they could no
longer stand where they do (meaning, of course, that their livelihoods would be
wrecked).
17:30,
Jubara. No traffic from the OPT trying to enter Israel.
Jubara. No traffic from the OPT trying to enter Israel.
17:35,
Gate 753. Four-six pedestrians. Checking is slow.
Gate 753. Four-six pedestrians. Checking is slow.
17:40,
Ar-Ras. Little traffic. IDs of passengers are checked in cursory fashion.
Ar-Ras. Little traffic. IDs of passengers are checked in cursory fashion.
Hebron
Area
Sunday
AM, 9.3.08, 06.45-09.30
Meitar
CP. Deserted, due to the closure since last
Friday following the Yeshiva massacre.
CP. Deserted, due to the closure since last
Friday following the Yeshiva massacre.
Dura
El Pawar. Open both ways, many cars
crossing.
El Pawar. Open both ways, many cars
crossing.
Sheep
J.
Pedestrians on their way to Hebron
J.
Pedestrians on their way to Hebron
Shiyuch,
Sair. Closed and deserted
Sair. Closed and deserted
Road
60: Many children along the road, on their way to
school.
60: Many children along the road, on their way to
school.
Hebron:
New
graffit on the closed doors of the shops, calling for revenge and death to the
Arabs. Jeeps with armed soldiers secure the junctions toward Abraham
Mosque. Only few international
volunteers around, and some children going to school through the Pharmacy and
Tarpat CPs. Down from Abraham Mosque, a detainee caught by the BP was checked
and released when we stopped to watch.
New
graffit on the closed doors of the shops, calling for revenge and death to the
Arabs. Jeeps with armed soldiers secure the junctions toward Abraham
Mosque. Only few international
volunteers around, and some children going to school through the Pharmacy and
Tarpat CPs. Down from Abraham Mosque, a detainee caught by the BP was checked
and released when we stopped to watch.
Halhul east. Open.
Thursday AM, 13.3.08 05:45. Tarqumiya - Some 700 workers in the line, which extended beyond the covered area. Workers said they had been there about an hour, and that the crowding resulted from other CPs being closed. Today was not cold, and it gets light earlier in the morning, which helps. 4 positions open, 2 on each side. We counted 23 workers passing per minute. When at some point, a new station suddenly opened, all were pleased. By 06:50 the covered area was almost empty.
Weekly Digest 2.3.08-8.3.08
Report date:
09/03/2008
Content:
Bethlehem Area
Sunday AM, 2.3.08
07:00 Bethlehem CP:
Many people, and crossing is as usual, despite the weekend events. Only two
entrances open on the Bethlehem
side, and crossing is very slow. On the Israeli side five are open, but then
one closed, leaving the line orphaned. People started pushing and running to
the other lines. Havoc ended.
Ezyon DCL. It was cold in the waiting room. 2 settlers were waiting at the
turnstile. "Chutzpa [i.e.,
"outrageous"]", said one, "we have to wait, because they let
in the Arabs ahead of us! At Beth El I go in all the way to headquarters. The
IDF functions like the Histadrut [i.e., the Labor Union]". "Tell
me", asks the other, "while I am trying to help a young Palestinian,
don't they break into our cars here?"
Tuesday, 4.3.08, AM
06:40, Bethlehem CP. 4 posts functioning, lines terribly crowded,
people stood crushed against each other. Apparently it's the same on the other
side. The CO was helpless, in spite of sincerely trying to help.
At 07:45
the pressure seemed to be alleviated, but the entrance at the Palestinian side
was blocked, and every time just few people were allowed in.
Abu Dis Area
Monday AM, 3.3.08
Container CP, 06:30.
Almost deserted. All cars just went by,
unstopped. The BPs were relaxed and
friendly.
Sheikh Saed.
Also deserted.
Monday PM, 3.3.08, 14:00-17:30
Sheikh Sa'ed.
The CP looks increasingly "professional". About 100 meters of
the nearby road are now designated "sterile". This means no parking (but garbage can still
be tossed there...) Hardly any pedestrians pass.
The radio reported unrest in the
territories and stone-throwing in Jerusalem,
but driving through the Old City
we saw nothing unusual.
Olives Terminal.
Many cars apparently waiting for passengers.
Container CP. Traffic moved smoothly in both
directions, no queues. Most vehicles didn't have to wait more than 5 minutes.
Some random checking, but most private vehicles pass without any check. When a
taxi is checked, the driver collects the passengers' IDs and hands them to the
soldier, who takes them inside to check them on the computer. A bus was held up
this way for about half an hour, another one was released after twenty minutes.
Many workers on their way home arrived at the CP after having been dropped off.
Tuesday PM, 5.3.08
Container CP:
Huge lines of traffic in both directions. Within minutes of our arrival, traffic
started moving much more quickly. The
DCL rep explained that this was the busiest time of the day. Indeed, traffic was voluminous. Several
transits whose passengers' IDs had been taken for inspection were waiting below
the CP, but most were soon returned. 15:30.
Large numbers of workers - most over 35 - arrived, and passed quickly
and without incident.
A-Ram – Qalandiya Area
Tuesday PM, 5.3.08
Anata.
Increased security -- 10 security personnel of all kinds. Because of the weekend disturbances? Traffic moved quite quickly, though there
were frequent inspections of cars into Jerusalem.
Thursday AM, 6.3.08
06:20-06:40 Ras Hamis (Upper Anata). This CP opens at 06:30 only for children under the age of 17,
and in the PM for the children going to and from school. Gates promptly opened
at 06:30,
and all was quiet.
06:40-07:00 Anata. Heavy traffic, much congestion, many police
including 2 mounted and BP. Random
checks assured that most vehicles, including vans, pass within 5-10 minutes.
Though busy and hectic, things seemed under control.
Ras Hamis, 07:15
Children crossing. One soldier was mounted on the jeep with his gun constantly
aimed at the children as they were passing.
07:20 Qalandiya CP. Increased crowd size and little movement
through the turnstiles. A large crowd yet only 2 out of the 3 turnstiles
functional. Apparently the 3rd turnstile
broke down 3 days ago. People said they were in line since 5:30am.
The turnstiles opened and closed
erratically. Tensions mounted, and some
younger men tried to climb over the
fence. People complained to us about the
situation. Apparently, Atarot and Ramot closed down last week and all traffic
was rerouted to Qalandiya. The bathrooms remained locked.
At 08:40
the policeman who opened the side line for women and students disappeared. 2 pregnant women, as well as parents with
infants, were waiting to pass. Our
efforts to call the DCL to assist met with promises, but no action. We took action ourselves, and helped them
through, asking all standing in line to allow them easier passage, which worked
well.
Nablus Area
Sunday, 2.3.08, PM
Listeners to
the news would have concluded today that the Third Intifada had broken out
throughout the West Bank. After deliberating for a short moment, we agreed to proceed to our
usual monitoring shift and see facts on the ground.
Zaatara (Tapuach) Junction. No waiting lines, hardly any
vehicles. Very thin Palestinian traffic on the roads.
Huwwara village is under total curfew, all shops
and workshops are sealed, very few people seen scurrying along the abandoned
streets.
16:00 Huwwara CP. Just outside the CP, 7 vehicles parked,
their drivers and passengers standing by them in a stalled stance that speaks
volumes. DCL's captain A. arrives within 10 minutes, announcing that he knows
all the cases. They all traveled on "Madison road", breaking the law. Why,
we asked, is there no road sign explicitly stating that this is illegal? And
why do the soldiers who observe them doing so not prevent them from getting on
that road, preferring to let them proceed, then 'catch them' at it, and
punishing them with detention. Then he informs us (repeatedly) that they (the
Palestinian drivers) are all 'fucking our minds' and releases a truck carrying
oxygen tanks and after a while a doctor from Huwwara village who was driving
his own car. "Just for your sake. If he's a doctor he is intelligent and
he is still living in Huwwara so he should know where he is permitted to drive
and where he isn't". We said that sometimes people are in a hurry, or
tired, and the alternative road for Palestinians is long winding and potholed
and it is only human to choose the shorter, smoother road since "the
law" is not legal, thus the violation is no violation. A medication
carrier is then released too. All the others are kept waiting until 5
p.m.
and 5:30 p.m. to 'do their time' of punishment.
The soldiers kept their eyes on the watch and stuck to the letter of every
second. Then another crane-truck and a private car were also detained for
punishment for the same sin, kept 3 or 4 or 6 hours…
At the
turnstiles, three checking posts are active, an especially vulgar military
policewoman working in the middle post. Pedestrian traffic is rather thin, but
the Palestinians still report waiting over an hour and a half. The special side
line for women, children and the elderly moves quickly without delay.
Palestinians
report that at 1 p.m., the checkpoint was closed for a
short while and all Palestinians on the northern side of the checkpoint were
instructed to sit on the ground.
17:00. The
line is down to a trickle.
15:15, Beit Furiq. We had heard on the radio that there were rioting and stone-throwing
in Huwwara as well as around the colony Itamar (on the apartheid road to Beit
Furiq) so we first drove to Beit Furiq. We saw absolutely no military presence
or colonists on our way there, everything looked as usual. In Beit Furiq
village, taxi drivers said, everything is normal, no curfew, and passage
through the checkpoint today "was alright". At the CP itself, few pedestrians who pass
quickly, and no waiting vehicles. One checking lane is used both for incoming
and outgoing traffic, and for lack of cars waiting is very short.
Sunday, 2.3.08, PM
13:45, Jit Junction. The rolling checkpoint is back, at least from the Beit Iba direction.
13 vehicles wait going down the hill.
Junction of 60 and 55. Another rolling checkpoint in the
direction of Anabta. Nearly two hours later, this rolling checkpoint is no
more.
14:00, Beit Iba. We’re told that Anabta has been
closed for one and a half hours, and that there is a lot of tension in
Palestinian cities today, based on the IDF’s incursion into Gaza. This is confirmed, also, at the
checkpoint by people coming from Nablus where, we’re told, there are
hordes of angry people in the street.
Although there
are practically no vehicles coming out of Nablus, the line of vehicles trying
to get to the city from the Deir Sharaf direction is endless, the checking both
of pedestrians and of cars, painfully slow.
15:00. The
11-12 soldiers on duty spend an inordinate amount of time chatting with each
other and generally making checkpoint life as difficult as they know how.
Often, there are three soldiers by the turnstiles, standing, smiling or simply
staring at the 50, or so, young men waiting patiently in line to get through.
There are fewer people than usual trying to get home, but the checking of young
men – minus shoes, belts and jackets and waiting, waiting, goes on in
painstakingly slow fashion.
15:20. The
line of vehicles, waiting to enter Nablus, is long and has not moved in all
the time we’ve been at Beit Iba.
Tuesday, 4.3.08, AM
07:15--09:00, Beit Iba. All men are checked thoroughly, IDs, sometimes bag as well. Still, no
lines form. The students, who are the bulk of the passers, save time by
carrying their books in their hands.
Vehicular
traffic on both sides is sparse. There is a dog-handler, and random vehicles
are checked by the dog.
Qalqiliya Area
Sunday, 2.3.08, PM
12: 40, Habla. The agricultural gate is open. Little action.
12: 55, Qalqilya. Border Police check most vehicles entering Palestine (most unusual). No line to go into
Qalqilya, no checking at all and few cars leaving the city.
13:30, Azun. A Border Police jeep and an army ambulance stand where once was the
entrance to the town. Pedestrians wind their way around the tangles of razor
wire, over the mounds of earth, piled several meters high, carefully making
their way.
15:30, Anabta. No cars coming out of Tulkarm. Israeli cars are allowed into Tulkarm
with no fuss. Only one yellow taxi is stopped, and has been for an hour, the
driver being “punished” for some unspecified crime.
15:45. The
line of vehicles into Tulkarm gets longer. What is clear is that once we move
away from checkpoint central, the line begins to move.
16:15, Jubara. Uneventful
16:30, Gate 753. Checking is slow.
16:35, Ar-Ras. At least ten vehicles coming from Tulkarm are waiting in line. IDs
are thoroughly checked as are the backs of cars, glove compartments as well as
trunks.
Tuesday, 4.3.08, AM
06:45--07:00, Irtah. A long time since our last visit, and nothing has changed. Workers
are still coming out of the facility complaining about the long wait and the
extra random check at what is called "the rooms".
09:15--09:30, Anabta . No vehicles queuing up.
09:45--10:30, Jubara and Ar-Ras. The saga of the closed gate goes on. The key
is there, but the checkpoint commander is unfamiliar with the permission
granted to us to enter the village. Eventually the gate is opened for us. The
village is deserted as usual, and down in Ar-Ras hardly any vehicles pass.
Hebron Area
Sunday AM,
2.3.08, 06:30
- 10:00
Meitar-Sansana CP:
It takes approx. 15-20 minutes to pass. One worker told that although he
has a 24-hour permit, on Thursday at 8pm
he was told that the CP was closed and he should use Tarqumiya. It took an hour and a half before the gate
opened for him. The condition of the lavatories on the Palestinian side is
appalling. On 3 lavatories is a sign for men, women and disabled, but they are
locked. The open latrine, without running water, is in a horrid condition,
"even a dog wouldn't use it", a man commented.
Hebron. Massive military presence, probably due to
the protest strike. Apparently, few students and teachers showed up at schools.
Tel-Rumeida. Soldiers with pointed
rifles were encircling the building next to the new grocery. Soon they left,
rushing to "autonomous" Hebron,
to procure "law and order". They would not exchange a single word
with us. The remaining two soldiers up
the hill inspected meticulously with a magnometer each passer-by, old or young.
A settler rewarded them with cups of coffee.
At the CP by the Patriarchs' Cave, the
soldiers detained passers-by, for inspection of their IDs, but not longer than
a quarter of an hour.
Weekly Digest 24.2.08-1.3.08
Report date:
03/03/2008
Content:
Bethlehem Area
Sunday AM, 26.2.08
07:00 Bethlehem CP. Crowds on the street as well as
inside, but people said crossing was quick today. 5 booths open and many people, but little
tension.
07:45 Ezyon DCL. A small crowd in front of the
locked door. At 08:00, 2 DCL officers, armed and with helmets in hands,
ordered people away from the door and behind the cement blocks until the door
was opened. The Palestinians obeyed quietly with expressionless faces.
Monday PM, 25.2.08, 14:00-17:00
Ezyon DCL. Empty but for a couple of young
men waiting for a 'captain'.
Heading back, a hailstorm started. Probably due to the hail no soldiers stood
outside to check the busses across from the entrance to Tantur.
Bethlehem CP: The storm intensified, and we
remained in the car. People were running in record speed from the busses into
the Terminal and then towards the exit. Only one person sported an umbrella
(probably a tourist). Fortunately, no Palestinian had to stand waiting in the torrential
rains.
Tuesday, 26.2.08, AM
06:30, Bethlehem CP. The usual: terrible crowding at the Palestinian entrance, where two of
the three turnstiles are functioning; long lines inside, where only 5 of the 12
checking posts are functioning. From above, a female voice screams
unintelligible orders.
07:50, Ezyon DCL. 10 are waiting for magnetic
cards. The DCL opens on time 8:00. The first two men emerge minutes later with the cards.
Wednesday PM, 27.2.08
15:45 Bethlehem CP. Apparently, the Armenian Patriarch visited Bethlehem. The
iron gate to Bethlehem at the roundabout was open, and the roundabout area was full of blue
police, border police, and even mounted police. This caused quite a lineup of
cars headed towards the CP,
but the line quickly vanished once the patriarch entered and the gate was
closed.
Ezyon DCL, 16:00-16:40. Only about 6 people around. A merchant told us that his permit, always
renewed in the past, was revoked, and he was called a liar for protesting that
he is indeed a merchant. He brought documents to prove it, and these were under
perusal with "the captain" We encouraged him to contact us if his
efforts did not succeed. He claimed his particular problem was widespread. Has
anyone else heard about new obstacles for merchants to renew their permits?
This is usually done at the Palestinian DCL, and only problematic cases are
sent to Ezyon. And back again. etc. A math teacher came to renew his annual
magnetic card. Although he was there before closing time, he was told to
"come back tomorrow". We tried,
but failed, to get a straight answer from the soldier at the window whether the
place was in fact open or closed. That soldier's bottom line was that everyone
had left so it was closed. But then the officer arrived, and not only claimed
that the DCL was open, but even agreed to service the teacher then and there.
But the man chose not to enter, saying he would come the next day, out of fear
that if he entered at our intervention, he might be made "to pay" for
it. He wanted to take no chances.
17:00 Bethlehem CP. About 100 people lining up, only 2 windows open. Each individual passed
quickly enough, but the number of open windows was not appropriate for the
number of waiting people. The guard refused to ask for more windows, saying
there is no manpower. But another guard arrived, who asked for more openings at
his own initiative.
Ar-Ram – Qalandiya Area
Sunday PM, 24.2.08
15:45, Qalandiya:
2 pedestrian passages operating, lines short. 3-4 people waiting on the DCL
benches. No problems in the vehicle area. At 4pm the DCL closed, without receiving the waiting
people, even if they had been waiting since 13:00.
16:30: One pedestrian
gate closed, slowing passage to 16 minutes. Recurrent problems with the
carousels at the CP exit. Laborers returning from their day's work were
intermittently caught in front of the locked carousel. Finally, the problem was solved.
16:45: 50 people waiting outside the northern carousels with
more arriving all the time. The soldier
in the control room continued to talk on
her phone and paid no attention to what was happening in the passageways.
Tuesday PM, 26.2.08
Anata. Many children (over 1000?)
returning from school. The CP well
staffed. No traffic backed up in either
direction and much pedestrian traffic as well, some just walking out unchecked.
Leel CP. A huge line of vehicles, carefully
checked, all with green plates. A sign
forbids Israelis to cross.
Thursday AM, 28.2.08
06.25 Anata CP. A huge traffic jam, partly due to internal traffic,
but otherwise quiet. Fewer soldiers than
usual. One driver was stopped but then
released. Many cars had their trunks
checked.
07.20 Ar-Ram. Long car queue, but routine checking. One pedestrian was held up, but soon let
through. Schoolchildren had to open
their bags,and wait for the soldier to
signal that they may pass. In contrast, in
Anata children pass without being stopped or checked. Two teenage girls with pulled along suitcases
had to hoist her case up on to a wall to open it, but the guard didn't even
bother to look in it!
07.40 Qalandiya. Amazingly, no queue at the outer
turnstile. The prisoners' families were
already at the gates. That's how it can
be when the equipment works and the
organization is efficient. The police
officer was also helpful to individual people (even if not always successful).
Nablus Area
Sunday, 24.2.08, PM
A state of no passage of Palestinians of certain
age groups into and out of town) is imposed.
Zaatara (Tapuach) Junction. No waiting lines.
15:20, Huwwara. Very long lines entering Nablus. The
military engineers did not include in their planning considerations a situation
in which the army would decide to inspect people on their way in as well.
Everyone crowds between the two very narrowly spaced chicken wire fences that
constitute the 'sleeve' through which the entry turnstile is usually
approached. Two soldiers, pointing their rifles at the pedestrians waiting in
this line, perform the selection who will continue into Nablus and
who will be refused. The narrowness of this passage forces everyone to crowd
insufferably, men, the elderly, women and children who are not in the banned
age brackets. An English teacher from Jenin who now resides in Nablus and
teaches at Beita is denied entry. He turns to the checkpoint commander, a
second lieutenant who, with a sealed expression, listens to the teacher
appealing to him again and again, and keeping still. Finally we approach the DCL
representative and after he hears us out, he gets the teacher through. Later
apparently the officer turns out to be a speaker after all: "Enough, you
dumb women. I'm sick of you!" And later, "You collaborate with them
instead of worrying about the soldiers". When we take one step across the
'white line': "You want to go into Nablus too?
Go marry them…" Two soldiers stop a herd of sheep at the east of the
checkpoint on the Nablus side. They lock him up in the detention cubicle and try to chase away the
sheep by throwing stones at them. The shepherd's little brothers take the sheep
away while their brother sits out his punishment, three hours of detention,
"because he approached the checkpoint with a flock of sheep", as the DCL
explains.
16:00. The line is long. Occasionally men are
required to take their shoes off going through the metal detector in their
socks on the filthy floor. Others are forced to run over to the X-ray truck and
back to receive their IDs. The men waiting in line know that insubordination to
the rules of standing in line will cost them extra waiting.
16:30. Young men report two hours waiting time. The
vehicle checking line is conducted as usual, passengers getting off 10 meters
away from the post, driver arriving with everyone's IDs, passengers waiting far
away, the whole checking process sometimes lasting 20 minutes. A man who drove from Awarta on the
Israelis-only road has already been detained for two hours as punishment. The DCL
regards this as an obvious fact, so what if there is no road sign forbidding
Palestinian traffic? The driver is supposed to know it's forbidden.
18:20. The soldiers announce a 'life-freeze' and
close the checkpoint. They crawl, practice would-be-shooting and leap over
concrete ledges in front of the astounded Palestinians. Within five minutes,
about 60 people accumulate at the entry line, women with babies in their arms,
a woman cancer patient on her way back from treatment, people on their way home
from work, and the soldiers stand around talking. For 15 minutes they sand
chatting. When the checkpoint re-opens, there are already over 100 people, all
crowded into that narrow sleeve, and the soldiers checking IDs in the dark. As
a result, they let most of the people through rather quickly, without really
checking.
17:13, Beit Furiq. Few pedestrians, rapidly let through. Few vehicles,
checked first only in one lane, then two. Beit Furiq and Beit Dajan residents
have already become used to the fact that only they are allowed through this
checkpoint, so no more tragic scenes are held here of relatives wishing to
visit their family or anyone who is not officially a resident here.
Tuesday, 26.2.08, AM
According to the soldiers, confirmed by the
Palestinians, as of today there's no closure nor separation.
07:35--08:45, Beit Iba. The soldiers are surprisingly friendly. This is their
last day at this checkpoint, which may explain it. Passage is quick. At first
the ones entering the city are not checked at all, then they are checked
randomly, most of the time men only. A dog-handler and her dog check some cars,
obviously to train the dogs. Three young men are led to the detainees'
enclosure. They are "drippers", to use army lingo -- they walked
through the surrounding hills to evade the checkpoint.
Thursday, 28.2.08, PM
There did not seem to be any extra collective
restrictions enforced in the area of Nablus.
15:36–18:10, Beit Iba. Especially crowded and tense. At any given time there
were at least 100 pedestrians waiting in line, and at times -- close to 200.
Waiting time: about half an hour. The MPs were very rude and nervous. When
belts and shoes were to be removed, the belts had to be thrown on the ground
and people had to stand on the filthy ground in their socks. The Commander was
not in control of his soldier’s behavior, and although he seemed to have good
intentions, he may have been overwhelmed by the immensity of the job.
Over 60 people were waiting most of the time at the
“humanitarian” line. Waiting time: about 10 minutes. Checking here was
laborious, but when the line got too long, checking was speeded up and people
were waved through for a few minutes.
Pedestrians going into Nablus were
checked quite thoroughly. This seemed unusual since we’ve often seen just a
random check done.
There were 7 detainees. Four of them had tried to
bypass the CP. They were held an hour and then were sent to the back of the
line. When we were about to leave at 18:00, 2 more detainees arrived.
At the peak of the traffic jam coming into Nablus there
were 30 vehicles on line. From Nablus -- an
average of 8 to 10 vehicles. Waiting time: around a half hour in both
directions.
Qalqiliya Area
Tuesday, 26.2.08, AM
No closures. The taxi drivers everywhere say,
"all is well today". Joy of the poor.
06:30--07:00, Qalqilya. Few vehicles both directions, and they are hardly
checked, but the soldiers manning the entrance side take it easy, and lines
form. Eventually I approach them and ask politely to show consideration for the
people, their time and the fact that this is not the only checkpoint the have
to pass today. They claimed that this is their way to "prevent
burnout". But they did start passing vehicles without delay, at least
while we were there.
Azun. This is our first sight of the new sand embankment and barbed-wire
"curls" blocking the entrance to the village. Gone is the nice square
and one more ugly construction is added to the concrete, boulders and
barbed-wire jungle disfiguring the occupied territories. A teacher from
Qalqilya in her long dress embarks upon her mountain-climbing feat on her way
to work.
09:00--09:15, Anabta. Unlike other times, no lines at all and the few vehicles
pass without checking.
09:25--10:00, Jubara. We didn't make it into the village nor to Ar-Ras. The unit
manning the checkpoint changed, the key to the village-gate disappeared.
Thursday, 28.2.08, PM
14:15, Tulkarm. The entrance to Azun from route 55 is still blocked by a
high wall of dirt and boulders. The more southern entrance (the old route 55)
is open to traffic.
We stopped at Kufr Sur to deliver official forms to
be filled in with details of village residents in need of permission to cross
over to their land. Even though they may have land both near the Salet gate
(839) and the Children's Gate (735), they can get permission for only one.
14:57, Ar-Ras. 20 vehicles on line from Tulkarm; none going in. 10
workers were waiting at the Children's Gate (735) to go back home.
15:00, Jubara. 10 vehicles of Israeli Arabs were waiting on line to leave
the territories. Settlers and Jewish Israelis are allowed to go through on a
separate line.
15:16--15:40, Anabta, 20 vehicles on line in each direction. The lines were
moving along. Checking in both directions was random.
A taxi driver was detained because he tried to cut
around. When the soldiers told him to go to the back of the line, he refused.
He told us that he was only dropping passengers off. He was NOT going through
the CP to Tulkarm.
18:49--19:10, Qalqilya. 15 vehicles on line to Qalqilya; no cars coming out.
Israeli cars were not allowed entrance into Qalqilya if they were not on the
soldier's list. They could walk in, though.
Jordan Valley
Thursday PM, 28.2.08
12:04 Ma'ale Efraim CP. Drowsy soldiers lean on
their rifles at this CP, and no cars in sight.
13:10 Tiasir CP. A soldier chants Jewish songs as
he checks a car meticulously. The driver attempts to place his bags on the
floor with care, yet their contents spill on the floor. 'Know this song?' asks the soldier amicably. All car passengers
dismount before they arrive at the CP, to continue on foot. Pedestrians and
drivers are stopped at a distance of 10 meters. The soldiers announce over the
speakers: "Raise your shirt", and all males, including children 7
years old, do so. The soldiers poke around the children's school bags.
15:13 The gate on the road between Tiasir and Hamra CPs
is open Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, 08:00-08:30 and 15:00-15:30. Only then can Palestinian cars pass. The gate is
open now and a tractor full of Bedouins passes.
15:47 Hamra CP. 'Today is good', we are greeted
by one of the men who had just passed.
In the shed is a detainee, hands handcuffed behind his back, sitting on
the concrete floor. He is a shepherd from Hirbat Tane. A soldier says he was
caught with a big knife, admitting the shepherd was nowhere near the CP or the
soldiers, and did not resist search and arrest.
In fact the knife was just 15 cm long. He's been here for an hour,
waiting for the police. Here too, men and children must raise their shirts to
pass. 16:30 a
police car arrives. An officer congratulates the soldiers on a job well done.
The plastic handcuffs are removed, leaving a mark on the man's wrists). The
shepherd says he'd rather die than abandon his sheep while he is taken by the
police. The officer grabs him by the back of the neck, pushes him towards the
wall and makes him bend down, facing the wall. The soldiers take photos of the
prisoner. 10 soldiers standing around doing nothing.
17:30 The prisoner released, and heads towards the hills
to look for his sheep, as the sky darkens.
Hebron Area
Sunday
AM, 24.02.08
05:00-06:50.
Tarqumiya - On the way to the CP
dozens of transits pass us. Apparently the CP opened at 04:00, and passage was rapid. Still, drivers with blue
IDs waited to pass for up to 30 minutes, except for those from Qiryat Arba. A
man who had his ribs broken when he was crushed by the mass of people at the CP last month stopped to talk to
us, telling us of others' woes.
High Court
Sunday AM, 24.2.08
09:00 3 blacklisted Bethlehemites petitioned the court,
after we (MW) were unsuccessful in petitioning the Civil Administration on
their behalf for a lifting of their security blacklisting. M is married to a Jerusalem woman; I,
father of 13, refused to collaborate with the GSS, and F, father of 5, whose
brother was killed. The judge ruled against M, advising him to appeal in the
framework of family reunification. However, the reality is that this is the
more difficult path; people are blacklisted to prevent family reunification. After
the presentation of the cases, the judge asked to hear the GSS in camera. and
the public was asked to leave. Upon returning to the court room, we heard the
judge's decision to uphold the blacklisting.
On what basis can the judge decide? There were no witnesses and no way
to defend oneself. The charges are not for acts committed but for family or
social relations. Perhaps greetings were
exchanged on the street with certain people, family events were attended by
certain people, etc. The only way to
prevent this is to cut off all one's ties, to shut one's telephone and to live
as a prisoner in one's own house. Since everything is classified, the accused
themselves don't know what they are accused of.
They weren't even at the court, as they don't have permits to go there!
The judge approved the defense counsel's request to apply for a permit again in
6 months. Meanwhile, how will the families eat?
Weekly Digest 17.2.08-23.2.08
Report date:
25/02/2008
Content:
Bethlehem Area
Wednesday AM,
20.2.08
06:45 Bethlehem CP. Temperature is close to 0 and the wind is
fierce. 4 stations open. Few people in
line.
08:45 DCL Ezyon. The waiting room is empty. Two men enter on police matters. A Bethlehem resident had an 8 day permit to visit his brother,
who has a blue ID, undergoing surgery in Haddasah. The DCL revoked it, and replaced it with a
permit for one day only. Our attempts to
help failed.
Thursday AM, 21.2.08, 06:30 –-08:30
Bethlehem CP. 4 booths open. No long queues on the Israeli
side. Apparently few on the other side, too, because of the ice on the road
from Hebron. Nevertheless, it took them 25 minutes waiting
outside for the first inspection and another 20 minutes to pass the metal detectors.
Abu Dis Area
Wednesday PM,
20.2.08
Container CP, 14:55. Light traffic only, most
vehicles just waved through. Waiting time 1-2 minutes. One car was being
thoroughly searched on the side, so that traffic flow was unaffected. Situation was similar when we returned 1.5
hours later.
Al-Ezariya, 15:35. At the entrance is a previously reported yet new red sign which says
in Hebrew, Arabic and English:
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY TERRITORY
AREA XX AHEAD
NO ENTRY FOR
ISRAELIS
ENTRY ILLEGAL
BY ISRAELI LAW
Following the
word "area", a letter had been painted over and obliterated in all
languages (where we put an XX), presumably the letter A. Indeed, this is not area A, and so of course
it is not illegal to enter. Al Ezariya
is replete with vehicles sporting Israeli license plates. We encountered at least 5 Israeli police
vehicles, some BP, some civilian. Nobody
paid the least bit attention to us "illegals".
Olives
terminal, 16:00. 25-30 cars
in the parking lot but the terminal deserted. We walked through and 2 bored but
surprised girl soldiers waved us through.
On our way back through the turnstiles, we happened to follow a small
family, father, mother and baby wrapped in a blanket. Squeezing through the turnstile while
carrying a baby is not easy.
A-Ram – Qalandiya Area
Sunday PM,
17.2.08
15:15 Qalandiya: Two
pedestrian operating, crowded with 50 people each. Passage took about 15
minutes. 3-4 people waiting on benches in the shed to enter the DCL. At 15:50 a man waiting for the DCL was told it was already
closed (it is supposed to be open till 4pm), but
nonetheless was let in. He told us that the people sitting on the benches had
been waiting since 3PM, and
still not managed to enter.
Monday PM,
18.2.2008, 14:00-17:00
Road 443.
Construction of walls, fences, security roads and additional watchtowers
continues. Each road leading to Palestinian villages is blocked off with
concrete slabs. Beyond the concrete
slabs at Khartaba were many cars awaiting passengers. The drivers were anxious
to tell us their plight, primarily unemployment. Only one person in ten gets a
permit. Those under 30 are automatically refused. It takes over an hour to
reach Ramallah, the roads are in an abominable state. From the watchtowers
everything is photographed, like satellite pictures, but nevertheless there are
occasional round-ups in the villages. The soldiers arrive at 1:00 AM and stay until 4:00 AM waking up everyone, and entering with dogs, which scare the children.
They count the number of people in each house, despite the having all the data.
In the early mornings, workers who can will wait from 03:00 until they are slowly let in after 05:00 in order to get to work at 07:00. The soldiers harass them, especially a particularly
vicious girl who screams obscenities.
The weather
was turning nasty and we drove to the Bitunia CP, which was empty.
Thursday AM,
21.2.08
06.30 Anata. 3 armed vehicles and
numerous BP, soldiers and civilian guards, all seeming singularly relaxed and
good-humored. Heavy traffic moved slowly as usual through 2 lanes.
07:30 Qalandiya. All lanes open, and all machines
functioning. At the outside carousels,
movement seemed slow. The crowd was unusually heavy for this late hour. Instructions were blared so loudly on the
loudspeakers as to be practically unintelligible. Women, schoolchildren and
teachers used a separate gate (which would later be used for prisoners'
families, who were allowed through only at 8.40, later than the 8am usual).
Nablus Area
Sunday, 17.2.08, PM
16:15, Beit Iba. Men 16--35
cannot go southwards from Tulkarm and Jenin -- nor north, since north is Israel -- not
much ground left. As this policy is imposed without prior announcement people
are sometimes unable to get back on time, and cannot reach their homes. We
witnessed this several times to day, as students trying to return home from Nablus were
turned back. Elderly Palestinians passing through the 'humanitarian line'
discover upon arrival that they are not old enough, and are ordered to return
via a tall concrete rail.
Qalqiliya
Area
Sunday, 17.2.08, PM
17:18, Azun. The
entrance is still blocked by dirt mounds.
17:23, Qalqilya. The CP
is manned by reserve troopers. This is the only entrance and exit to a city
surrounded on all sides by a wall. The soldiers seem at ease; the Palestinians
less so.
Sunday, 17.2.08, PM
Jubara. Few cars, as Israeli cars with permits (Israeli
Palestinians) are not allowed into Tulkarm. A Palestinian tells us that his
employer is made to pay a thousand shekels a month to Israeli authorities, a
sum he often discounts from the worker's wages.
13:10, Anabta. Four
soldiers. Three cars in line at the entrance to Tulkarm, six waiting to exit.
Israeli cars and blue ID holders are being ordered to turn back. 'There's a curfew today'
The children gate. A young man is detained because upon
return from Israel, it was
discovered he has no permit.
14:30, Ar-Ras. Five
cars in line. The road leading away from the cp is so badly damaged, that cars
and trucks have to drive with one wheel on the damaged road, the other in a pot
hole. The soldiers' attitude is sovereign, they won't answer any questions and
they don't care whether their orders are understood. Two young men are detained
for half an hour, no reason given, they say.
15:01, the children gate. The
young man is still there together with two other detainees
15:15, Anabta.
Mayhem. Dozens of cars stretching as far as the eye can see. The checkpoint is
blocked for some reason. People are extremely agitated. 25 minutes after our arrival the CP is open.
When we leave at 16:00 there
is still a long line of cars, and tension is in the air.
Hebron Area
Sunday AM,
17.2.08
Tarqumiya CP. 2
merchants waiting in the hope that they would be let through after
waiting since 4AM. Their
vehicle had been allowed through, but their trading permits had been
confiscated despite being valid!
Why? Because they admitted to
being from the rag trade, and his line of business should be limited. Our attempts to assist them failed. 4
bus-loads of prisoners' families were being checked. Checking was
slow, "for lack of manpower".
Sansana CP. 80-100 men queuing at the turnstile. Passage
timed at 20 minutes to the Israeli side. We were told that some 900 had already
passed 300 more would. The last few workers passed at 7am. Still no change in opening hours on weekends.
Ramadin: The road from Ramadin has been blocked with
boulders by the army, but was not manned.
Thursday AM,
21.2.08
Tarqumiya CP, 05:45. Few workers waiting in line.
Groups of workers kept arriving and passing in 5 minutes. A simpt change made all the difference: instead of having to put their papers into
the slot in the concrete CP, the workers could pass them directly through the
open windows, allowing the soldiers to examine the papers without having to
leaf through looking for the correct page.
Weekly Digest 10.2.08-16.2.2008
Report date:
19/02/2008
Content:
Bethlehem Area
Monday PM, 11.2.08
14:00-17:15
Ezyon DCL. Nobody waiting.
Tantur. 2 male and 2 female BPs were completing forms for 10 detainees. One soldier asked us to park elsewhere and observe from the other side of the street. A female BP told us to observe from 50 yards away, but didn't insist. She was extremely nasty when we tried to intervene on behalf of one woman who urgently needed to get home to her children in Bethlehem and had been held up almost an hour ago. 10 minutes later all were told to proceed to Bethlehem CP for interrogation. The mother at this point was crying. We offered to take an elderly man with bags or the mother in our car and were rudely refused.
Bethlehem CP, 17:00. 3 windows manned. The civilian guard was efficient and even asked for an additional window to be opened. People waited no longer that 10 minutes, women and children allowed in first. One man with an elderly woman was told to return back home to Hebron and report back in the morning at 9:00 AM to see "Captain" S.
Tuesday AM, 12.2.08
06:30, Bethlehem CP. 5 active posts, lines long and tense. People report that it is very crowded on the Palestinian side as well. The soldiers work quietly and efficiently, but there is no way they can cope with the crowding. But by 07:15 the pressure is alleviated.
07:55, Ezyon DCL. 3 men waiting for the DCL to open. They want magnetic cards. It is rainy, windy and cold. Theyג€TMve been waiting about an hour, huddled against the wall for protection against the weather. There is no shed in front of the DCL. At 08:00, the DCL opens.
Thursday AM, 7.2.08
05:30 --07:30
Bethlehem CP, 05:30. Opened at 05:15, 5 booths open. Many people, but crossing is quick. Some were heading towards Bethlehem at this hour, against the traffic, abd have toi manage through the same passage. One young civilian guard is very rough, shouting at people: "Get lost!"
"You can't stand here" (to people waiting or praying under the roof, since it is raining), "You can't smoke here" (then lighting a cigarette himself!).
Abu Dis Area
Monday PM, 4.2.08
The sunny weather and wonderful visibility stood in sharp contrast to the sad sights and filth we saw all throughout the shift.
Abu Dis. At the Gate stood 8 BPs. No Palestinians crossing. One BP said that only 350 people are allowed to pass there.
Olives terminal. Few people crossing, mainly women. We wanted to go to the other side, but at the entrance to Al Ezariya was a red sign forbiding Israelis from entering.
Container CP. No lines on either side. Very few cars checked. One taxi from Bethlehem was stopped, papers were examined, but soon it was sent on its way. The turnstile for the pedestrians was stuck and they all squeezed through a very narrow path next to it.
Sheikh Saed. The newly built CP is manned by 2-3 BPs and the same number of civilian guards. We were not allowed to enter.
A-Ram - Qalandiya Area
Monday PM, 11.2.08
14:00-16:30
A short and frustrating shift
Ar-Ram CP. We spoke with an employee of a car dealer, located opposite the CP. He said that the road connecting some houses on a hill across from the CP to the road to Jerusalem was blocked off a few days ago with barbed wire coils. Until then people living there could reach Jerusalem without inspection, but afterwards they had to get out via a narrow side-alley and cross the CP. The inhabitants of those buildings approached a lawyer, whereupon the barbed wire was moved away.
All traffic passed uninterrupted while we were there.
Qalandiya CP. We parked across from the entrance to the CP. A large new sign at the entrance states that this area falls under the PA and entry is strictly forbidden to Israelis. We left in frustration.
Thursday AM, 14.2.08
06.25 Anata. A teenage boy, his face and arm swollen, is covered with mud. The other boys tell us that the CP guards hit him. The BP officer, just arrived, knew nothing about the incident, but seemed quite worried.Traffic is very heavy, mainly children, and the vehicle queue is very long. Checking is quite thorough, many personnel. The line moves slowly. Suddenly 2 soldiers started chasing two young guys, but came back when they ran up the hill. Apparently the had been throwing stones.
08.15 Qalandiya CP. Prisoners' families in the waiting area, and many people crowded at the turnstiles. One man said he was there since 6am. The magnometer that broke down last week has not been fixed yet. While we were there another also stopped working. The lines barely advanced. The pressure was unusual for that time of the day. We called the DCO, and an officer came out to help sick people and mothers with babies through the side line, but there was no relief for the "ordinary" people. The prisoners' families had to wait till there were no lines, because of the shortage of magnometers.
Nablus Area
Sunday, 10.2.08, PM
14:00, Beit Iba. Far fewer people than usual: no wonder, there is a strict curfew for all men aged 16-35 who live in the Jenin and Tulkarm areas. The men behind the turnstiles have to wait far longer than usual. The soldiers are rude.
14:15. Change of shift, but nothing gets any faster, and there continue to be about 40 men at the two turnstiles throughout the shift. It takes twenty to twenty five minutes to get through. This group of soldiers excels at talking: talking to each other and taking little notice of waiting vehicles or pedestrians. This is particularly noticeable at the vehicle checking area which now sports working traffic lights: red and green (but no yellow) and several brand new automatic "arms" which can be lifted at will to let vehicles pass, etc. The ever increasing efficiency of occupation.
15:15. As we leave, the soldiers' meals arrive. More time is taken off. And a waiting Palestinian tells us that he is forbidden to cross into Nablus: the curfew is now said to be up to age 45 (and he's 44 years old). We offer to check this ruling with the commander, but the man indicates he's fed up, "We have no country, we are all in prison all the time."
Qalquiliya Area
Sunday, 10.2.08, PM
13:30, Jubara. At the entrance to the checkpoint, the usual police barricades. Several young men in handcuffs are sitting on the ground by the police trailer.
13:45, Junction of Routes 55 and 60. Rolling checkpoint. Four cars in line. Palestinian vehicles, particularly trucks, attempt to get across the deep ditches to make their way towards Jenin. At least one is stuck.
15:30. The rolling checkpoint is still in full force, and the line to go towards Anabta is quite lengthy as we make our way up to Jit, where there's no checkpoint.
On the way to Qalqilya. Lots of army materiel on the road, as well as blue police jeeps. The Shvut Ami outpost seems to be empty.
16:00, Azun. As we approach Azun we see a giant earthmover and several large army trucks. The access to the town is completely blocked by huge mounds of earth. Azun is under curfew.
16:10, Qalqilya. A long line of vehicles, at least 25, going in the direction of Qalqilya, but hardly any leaving. Five reservists are manning the checkpoint and, as is usual here, there's random checking.
16:30, Habla (on the seam line). It's still half an hour to opening time of the gate, but already men, women, horses and carts and cars, as well as shepherds, goats and sheep have gathered to wait to go home. Many get off work at 3:00, so have to wait two hours until the Occupier deigns to open the gate for people to pass from their own fields to their own homes on the other side of the separation barrier.
Hebron Area
Sunday AM, 10.2.08
07:00- 10:30
07:00, Sansana CP. 200 people waiting. There doesn't seem to be any movement. Some say they've been waiting for 20 minutes and some say 1.5 hours. Then miraculously the queue began to move, and within 25 minutes, the CP is clear. The workers complain that they cannot pass work tools through the CP. The CO said that the rules are that the workers were supposed to pass their tools during the first month of the civil operation of the CP and leave them in Israel. One person is required to leave behind a plastic bottle with olive oil, making it hardly worth it for him to cross and work at the pay he's getting. Two others are turned around because they don't have a permit. The voice of the security inspector inside the facility can be heard all over the area ג€" unpleasant and degrading.
07:35. Soldiers open the side gate beside the revolving gate to go buy falafel. As a result, the first revolving gate stops working and one worker stays trapped inside until we intervene. Two people tell us that their permits have been taken without any explanation, and they've been ordered to the GSS to retrieve them. One has been at the GSS offices 3 times already and has yet to get his back.
The bypass road to Ramadin was closed about a week ago, and taxis are prohibited from getting near. People get to the CP by foot through the mountains.
Sheep Junction. The taxi drivers tell us that soldiers break the windows of their vehicles if they dare get too close to the barricade. Another original form of punishment is to sit the drivers down in the mud with their eyes covered.
Weekly Digest 3.2.08-9.2.08
Report date:
11/02/2008
Content:
Bethlehem Area
Tuesday AM, 5.2.08
06:30, Bethlehem CP. The regular hell. People reported that the previous day was as bad, also in the afternoon. The crowding at the other side was horrible. A young man, with babe in arms, was standing at the CP entrance. The guards told him to step outside, into the cold. Finally, good sense prevailed, and he was permitted to wait inside. He was not related to the baby - the mother was not able to advance to the head of the line on the Palestinian side because of the crowding, the baby was transferred from hand to hand. It took the mother 50 minutes to join her baby.
Another man holding a sick baby and accompanied by his eleven-year-old daughter asked the guards to open the revolving bar and let him through without having to stand in line. He presented the daughter's birth certificate proving her age, but no -- he could go through with the baby, not the girl. Nothing doing, she had to go back on her own.
One work permit was confiscated, no reason given, as usual. It was still valid for this day; the owner had a new one, valid for the morrow. A work day lost. Two more men were not allowed through as their palm prints were not identified by the computer.
08:00, school children began to come out - they too were going to be late to school.
08:30 there were still about one hundred people waiting on the other side in two lines.
Thursday AM, 7.2.08
Bethlehem CP, 05:30 - 08:15: The CP opened at 5:05. On the Israeli side only 4 windows open, in two of them, digital prints are checked (in one of them, only arbitrarily). The crowding was terrible. At first it took between 6 to 15 minutes to pass. As time went by, more and more people were crowded and confusion ruled. Someone whose magnetic card is valid until 2009, is told by the solider that the validity will end this week; another had entered freely until Tuesday, but from Wednesday he is denied entrance since he is a GSS suspect; someone else claims his employer has paid for his permit, but does not appear on the computer.
Towards 06:55 another window opens, manned by an official to whom we had turned and this could have been done sooner. He sat in a booth the turnstile of which was malfunctioning and then changed places causing extra confusion for the people who had been waiting behind the first window.
There is lack of control, aggression, the Palestinians push, shout, fight. The guards try shouting at them to push them back and when this does not succeed they resort to shoving. The atmosphere is very tense and the order is given to have arms ready. Some try to pass through the unmanned stations. Some succeed, others don't. (Two are caught, detained and interrogated behind the door).
At about 06:50, a man in his 40-50s collapsed. The private security guards called for an ambulance which arrived after 20-25 minutes. According to the medics, the man was not suffering from a heart attack, and a Palestinian ambulance was called. The man was taken after having been laid on the floor about an hour. It seems he collapsed as a result of a broken rib due to the pushing.
There is no humanitarian line: medical staff, women, including pregnant ones and with babies on their arms, old people, all have to wait in the same line. Sometimes, soldiers succeed making way for them first, sometimes not, since other people have been waiting for 3 hours and have to get to work on time. Teachers complain that they never manage to arrive to their first class.
The soldiers are very young, they look inexperienced. They go along according to the book - according to the computer. There are no personal considerations. When ordered to shut windows (as a collective punishment since Palestinians do not keep lines), they do so; when ordered to reopen them, they do so. The official, very uncommunicative takes a long time to meet our request to open another station ("no manpower").
The Private Guards, to our surprise, are the most human. One of them, speaks Arabic, tries to help whoever has a problem. He also does not try to "educate" the Palestinians and asks for extra soldiers to open more windows. The head of the staff himself tells us that the situation created today is dangerous.
The Blue Police and the BP appeared after the man collapsed and were helpful in this case. Regarding the whole situation at the CP, they had only one solution: shouting to stand in lines, close windows when this was not complied with, and reopen them when they saw the collective punishment was not working.
When we left there were still many people waiting to pass. People complained that this whole week had been like this
Abu Dis Area
Wednesday PM, 6.2.08
Sheikh Saed 14:00: Very few pedestrians and as the road is barricaded, there was no motor traffic. One BP and one private security guard were at the CP. A resident returning from work told us that the appeal to the High Court regarding the decision to cage in this section of Jebel Mukaber was postponed again.
Ras Al Amud: At the Moskowitz house we see toys for children in the yard and two men, one on the roof, probably the guard, and the other on a lower roof top. We pass the Cliff Hotel with its broken windows and the ruins of a 7 storey home which had been a 24 apartment building demolished on the grounds that it was built illegally on Church property.
Container, (Wadi Nar) 15:30; A private car was being thoroughly searched and the line consisted of at least twenty five vehicles. The car was pulled over to the side, the driver's ID was taken but returned after five minutes. Traffic flowed relatively quickly. One driver told us that he had waited about 15 minutes which he thought was reasonable.
The arbitrary nature of the searches was obvious. There was one soldier checking although there were two lanes that could have been used. Sometimes he just waved through ten or twelve cars, and then he stopped a transit van for inspection. At 16:00, there was no soldier checking at all, and vehicles drove through keeping up a steady speed.
Workers returning from Maale Adumim or Mishor Adumim were driven to within 100 meters of the CP after which they walked. They were all clearly over 35. They arrived in groups of ten to twenty.
A woman aged about 40 approached us. She wore a cross, western style clothing with jeans and a jacket. She was distressed, pleading for help. She is a single mother of twins now aged 17, a girl and a boy. She is desperate for financial help for her children, and a job for herself.
Qalandiya Area
Wednesday PM, 6.2.08
A-Ram CP With about 40,000 residents, Ar-Ram the largest Palestinian city in North Jerusalem and the educational center for the surrounding villages. The Wall surrounding it leaves only one opening, north to Qalandya CP. A few residents with blue IDs who live between the wall and the A-Ram CP, can cross it, but only if their name is registered at the CP. A few buildings bordering Neve Yaacov, were spared this because they are located on properties belonging to the Vatican. This also benefited the residents of the 5 buildings located in the vicinity. But on the morning of February 5th, the residents of these buildings and the Rosary nuns woke to a new reality: their homes had been cut off from the Jerusalem direct entrance by barbed wire and next morning cement blocks had been added to prevent vehicle crossing. How could they reach work, school, relatives, etc? "Go to the DCO in and get a number". In no case will there be visitors for the residents of these 5 buildings, because they are not registered there as residents.
At the parking lot, next to the barbed wire the soldiers see two suspicious men carrying a suspicious bag which, it turns out, contains tomatoes, onions and some potatoes. While the two male soldiers check the vegetables, the female soldier remains alone by the barbed wire, smiling. The residents show us mountains of garbage that the Jerusalem Municipality doesn't pick up, though they pay full taxes.
Thursday AM, 7.2.08
06.15 a.m. Anata: We had been told of shooting there the previous day and as we arrived, we met the head of the local council who asked whether we had been asked by to come earlier and seemed pleased to know that was indeed the case. He told us that the BP had shot live ammunition at children, as a response to mounting pressure at the CP. He showed us three bullet shells he had collected, and said he was to meet the commanding officer of the BP in the afternoon. When we arrived traffic was still very light but it gradually built up into long lines. There were more than usual BP soldiers and some civil security manning 4 CPs on the two lanes of traffic. Sometimes a busload would be checked in the ‘front' checkpoint and a backlog would build up behind it at the ‘inner' point, resulting in a lot of confusion and frustration. Cars were being thoroughly checked, trunks opened. But a few cars circumvented the checking due to the confusion. One driver thanked us for being there, usually it takes an hour and a half to get thorough, he said,. We did not think that our presence made any difference.
We saw one car kept at the side of the road for about an hour. Its driver approached the checking officer angrily a few times. The tension of impatient drivers and the anger of this driver were palpable. Finally the car drove off, it did not seem to us that any checking took place while the driver was made to wait.
Once past the checkpoints themselves, a terrific traffic jam builds up at the traffic lights.
The young primary schoolchildren seem to leave for school in a first wave. At about 7.30 the high school children (mostly boys) seem to gather. It turned out to be a fight among some boys themselves, one of whom got hurt on his head. The BP quickly came and calmed everyone down. We must point out that the police were particularly attentive to the wounded boy.
08.20 a.m. Qalandiya: The main morning rush was over, though passage at the 4 open gates was rather slow. An unusually small group of prisoners' families (10 people) passed through at 8.30. When the post office, which should have opened at 8.30 had not yet been opened by 8.50, we phoned and as a response the BP officer came to explain that the machine at the designed entrance was broken and the people were invited to go in through entrance no. 4., but no sign was placed to inform people about that option.
From a distance, the traffic passing through the car checkpoint seemed extremely slow.
Nablus Area
Sunday, 3.2.08, PM
Huwwara. The day the public heard about Israeli soldiers baring their bottoms in full view of Palestinians in the South Hebron Hills and army spokesperson's response was that "the deed was done contrary to the spirit of the IDF", we looked and looked and found not a trace of the "spirit of the IDF" in the closure checkpoints of Nablus. "The spirit of the IDF" certainly was not present amidst the concrete slabs and iron bars and metal fences enclosing thousands of human beings forced to wait for hours and pass through them day-in-day-out at the hands of young male and female soldiers who cannot differentiate between horsing and goofing around and having fun with the guys, and unadulterated vulgarity.
16:00. Long waiting lines. Three checking posts, where two or more soldiers scream ID numbers of everyone throughout the shift, asking and answering everything about checking, as well as personal conversation, in loud, low, racist language that is highly embarrassing (including comments about skin-color of some of the soldiers). The time robbed of Palestinians waiting in line stretches between one hour and two and a half hours.
At the waiting vehicle line, a sniffer-dog and its lady soldier operator instead of the X-ray truck that's missing today. That is why all vehicles exiting Nablus - the rare fortunate who have withstood the tough criteria of the GSS (General Security Service) and the Civil Administration and the Nablus Brigade and the DCO (District Coordination Office) and actually possess the State of Israel's permission to exit Nablus in their own car, the minority thus deemed worthy - stand still waiting for two-three hours until their moment for checking arrives. Passengers are required to disembark a few meters away, and wait. The car approaches the checking post, the driver presents his and the passengers' IDs, and is ordered to open all the doors, through which the dog will enter to find the prize which its mistress will have hidden for it. The X-ray truck being absent, a rickety table has been placed at the spot and packages are opened so that the dog can stick its snout in and sniff. Nylon wrappings of a huge package are torn open for the dog's snout.
17:00. The sniffer-dog ladies packed up and went. We wondered how come security is now suddenly abandoned? Why is the dog a security must until 5 p.m., and afterwards, we are fine without it? Crowding in the shed gets worse. The cold bites to the bone.
18:30. Lines are less crowded now.
On second thought, this was a normal shift. Everything flowed, there were no special events, no flagrantly sadistic harassment, no bottom-baring khaki flashers. Everything was done in the spirit of the IDF and its spokespersons.
17:00--18:00, Beit Furiq. Thin trickle of pedestrians, very long waiting line of vehicles exiting Nablus, but checks themselves are brief. A single checking lane for vehicles, incoming and outgoing both. An inbound truck has been waiting for over half an hour. Another truck driver complains of waiting over an hour already.
17:50. After helpful calls from a DCO officer the soldiers finally restarted the cars still waiting.
Sunday, 3.2.08, PM
13:45, Beit Iba. Not many vehicles in either direction. At the pedestrian checking area, the turnstiles are not functioning. As a result, the confusion at a crucial time when Palestinians return from university or work and the throng of people is greater than ever. It's not surprising that it takes a young man two hours to get through.
An old woman, hobbling with a stick makes her way, past the mass of people in the humanitarian line, and uses the lane that is for those coming from Deir Sharaf. The soldier sends her back to the humanitarian line which she has tried, unsuccessfully to bypass.
In the non-moving lanes behind the turnstiles waiting time is two hours probably for most. It's almost a relief when we spy a change of shift.
14:30. Second Lieutenant Y. arrives with R., the DCO (District Coordination Office) representative. There are 12 men in uniform standing around in a circle, with Y. and R., for a "briefing," given by Y., for at least ten minutes. Gradually, old people, particularly men, start going through the lane which is "open" as the other, younger men, behind the turnstiles, wait in stoic silence. It's a ghastly time, quiet, and nothing moves.
14:45. People have begun to move of their own accord, a soldier goes over from the briefing, shouts at them, is called back by Y. Eventually, both R. and Y. go to the waiting people, telling many they must go through the checkpoint, not the humanitarian line. In the ensuing mess, a number manage to sneak past and go on their non merry way.
Tuesday, 5.2.08, AM
Beit Iba. The entrance line to Nablus moves fast; no checking, it consists mostly of students. The people coming out pass through 2 checking points with turnstiles and magnometers. The "humanitarian" is open. Many soldiers and officers man the checkpoint, and it is run quietly and efficiently.
This is not to say that the magnometers don't beep shrilly, that people don't have to remove their belts and sometimes their shoes then and there, on the cold and dusty concrete. The men come out putting on their belts often wearing angry expressions. With all the improvements of this newly reconstructed checkpoint, nobody thought it necessary to improve the conditions of the Palestinians, not just the soldiers. Whoever compares this to airports doesn't know or doesn't want to know what he's talking about. There it is an inconvenience, here it is humiliation.
Qalqiliya Area
Sunday, 3.2.08, PM
12:45, Qalqilya. A steady stream of vehicles in both directions. Checking is random.
15:30, Anabta. Little traffic, no checking. Six pedestrians, making their way through the checkpoint in the direction of Tulkarm, are made to lift up their jackets, pirouette, open their little black plastic bags - and all, for what?
15:15, Gate 753. A line of vehicles. Three soldiers are working slowly.
Tuesday, 5.2.08, AM
06:30--06:45, Qalqilya. Very sparse traffic, hardly any vehicles coming out. Later on we found out that there is a closure on Tulkarm for 15-35-year-olds. Maybe it's valid here as well.
08:15--09:15, Anabta. An endless lines of vehicles on both sides. The soldiers work idly, chat between checks. Cars are checked thoroughly. 15-35-year-olds are sent back to Tulkarm. Arguments ensue, and the lines hardly move. Even when the soldiers start passing people more quickly a bottleneck further away prevents normal movement. Our impression is that we are witnessing bad management of the checkpoint and indifference to the wasted time of the Palestinians.
09:30--10:00, Jubara & Ar-Ras. Quiet. Hardly any traffic, probably due to the closure.
Hebron Area
Sunday PM, 3.2.08
A Palestinian man approached us at the seemingly uninhabited houses around the Pharmacy CP and invited us into his house. He lives there with his wife and 4 children for the past two and a half years. On the floor above him lives his cousin with his family.
The neighborhood is almost completely deserted and only a few families still live there. It belongs to the closed area of H2. B.'s house has been occupied by the army until 2005 and the army has left only under the condition that people will move in. Because of its location it is cheaper than houses in other areas. The neighborhood is a spooky ghost town. About 10 particularly ugly concrete wall segments have been put up in order to prevent the residents of the adjacent neighborhoods to sneak in. The main road opens up to Shohada Street and that's why the area is completely blocked. The former facades of the shops are locked. Wherever there are holes to crawl through, the army has laid out barbed wire. It is scary to live in a place where you cannot rely on neighbors to help you in case of emergency. Only the soldiers turn up from time to time and "inspect" the house.
B. is school keeper in H1, Palestinian Hebron. Whenever he and his family return home, they have to pass the CP and are searched. If they need to bring home tableware, cutlery or tools for the house, they have to receive a special permit! The children's school bags are thoroughly examined and this intimidates them. Even children without school bags have to pass through the magnometer. In H2 there are only elementary schools and older children have to walk over to H1.
Guests avoid visiting the family because of the CP. The family leads the life of hermits, isolated and without social contacts. The children have no one to play with and it is too dangerous for them to play on the street. The 7 year old boy has been beaten once by a soldiers and is now frightened to be outdoors.
There are no open neighborhood shops and the vegetable market, where the family can do the shopping is 20 minutes away by foot. No Palestinian car is allowed to enter H2. The products have to be carried home in heavy shopping bags, which are then systematically searched at the CP.
When there are problems with electricity supply, the technicians of the Hebron Municipality have to coordinate their visit with the army. The last snow fall has destroyed many electric cables and it took a couple of days before the technicians could repair them. There is severe water shortage in Hebron and B's house receives water only once in 7 days. When an ambulance is needed, this can be coordinated within one hour.
Monday AM, 4.2.08
6:30 Sansana (Meitar) Crossing. No workers waiting on PA. A few on the Israeli side, waiting for rides to work. There seemed to be more taxis and cars with PA licenses than usual on route 60
7:30 Tarqumia CP. Hundreds of workers were waiting to cross into Israel and there were women waiting on the opposite side of the road to board buses to visit relatives in prison. The Palestinians reported that the previous day there had been many workers waiting to cross with much pushing and shoving. They had heard that someone died as a result of the crowding. The soldiers said no one had died but someone had been hurt and a Red Crescent ambulance had taken him to an area hospital. The Palestinian who sells coffee at the crossing told us that the Palestinian workers had caused whatever problems there were and not the soldiers. All the workers were very anxious to work after several days of not being able to get to work on account of the bad weather.
There were an unusually large number of soldiers at the crossing. Army policemen were manning it. The officer told us that there was to be an inspection later that day. By the time we left 10 minutes later, all the workers had proceeded to the security checking point. A half a dozen women then proceeded to cross it but only after all the men had gone through.
Shuyukh Junction. We talked to a group of 6 men of the Hebron side including a young man who said that the soldiers there hit him both yesterday and today because he did not respond quickly enough to their commands. The men reported that they were kept waiting between on and 3 hours to have their identity cards checked.
Weekly Digest 27.1.08-2.2.08
Report date:
04/02/2008
Content:
Bethlehem Area
Tuesday PM, 29.1.08
A very cold, overcast,
threatening afternoon.
Ezyon DCL. Two 20 years old waiting. One, from Hebron, had
been summoned by the GSS. He had been
inside but was told to wait (in the unheated) reception area and had been
waiting for an hour.
Bethlehem CP. A private security guard at the entrance, 2
windows open, but almost no one passing.
Within minutes, some groups arrived, and passed quickly.
Nablus Area
Sunday
PM, 27.01.08
Beit
Iba - Israeli contractors' trucks and SUVs again punctuate the CP
landscape.Traffic lights are being installed at the vehicle checking area, and
the new roadway dug up, and re-cemented, for the necessary electrical work. The
dog with its soldier keeper hold up an ambulance, checking whatever there is to
check. A mass of brand new jeans are offloaded from a porter's cart onto the
wet roadway. Three soldiers pat and pat again, three large sacks of flour or
rice on another porter's cart. The newly improved CP has the same kind of large
puddles and sticky mud as after last winter's rains. 14:30. An ambulance
wails its way from Deir Sharaf, and is waved on its way by a soldier and wails
its way into the city beyond. A soldier takes a young man into the lock up and
is followed by the CO who, like his men, exchanges not a word with us. A plethora
of soldiers at the vehicle checking area, as well as at the pedestrian zone.
Everything is thoroughly checked. Brand new blankets, in their transparent
plastic covering, are opened and checked. Bags, briefcases and women's handbags
are invasively entered. Soldiers' hands burrow into the corners, pull out and
study folded papers, fondle yet other carrier bags. Young men, at least 80 in
the lines behind the two turnstiles, have to remove belts, sometimes shoes, and
always coats on this cold winter's afternoon. Many wander into the humanitarian
line to try their luck at passage there. A soldier shout out, in Arabic, non
stop, "Nobody under the age of 45." The rest of the time, he yells in
Hebrew at everybody or bellows questions at all the men, sometimes at women and
children. At the pedestrian checking area, two soldiers stand behind the table,
pointing their guns at the men behind the turnstiles, or poking their guns into
the bags or briefcases proffered for inspection on the table in front of them.
Qalqiliya Area
Sunday PM, 27.01.08
13:00 Jubara. The usual blue police car and the usual maze
to get hrough the plastic barricades into the OPT. We were not stopped incoming
but on our return, a soldier told us off.
A-Ras. 2 soldiers running, guns
in hand. They stop a horse and cart,
making it turn back towards 3 men who've walked, on foot from the village. The
men are related. Their story: A horse and cart were stolen, and they found it in the Jubara area fields, and
now want to get back home. All have magnetic cards and permits, but no way can
they go through the village of Jubara, which
is a ghetto for village residents only. Who knows how they got into the village
in the first place. The soldiers don't care. All they know is that these men
must go back to Jubara. The oldest one balks, saying they are not youngsters,
and sits down defiantly as the others proceed back towards the village.
Meanwhile, the soldier in the crow's nest receives telephone instructions that
the soldier left at the CP is on no account to carry out vehicle checking on
his own. So, where there was no line of waiting vehicles from Tulkarm a few
minutes ago, a line now begins to grow. What to do? They can't be in Jubara,
are not residents, have no permits to go through. The idea is that they go to
Taibeh, in Israel proper,
and get to Qalqiliya from there.
14:00 Anabta. No line to Tulkarm, no line from Tulkarm. All
moves quickly when, suddenly, a blue police jeep arrives, and starts stopping
Palestinian vehicles. Police harassment replaces army harassment.Are the men in
the back wearing seat belts?
Qalqiliya, 15:45. 12 vehicles in line towards Qalqiliya are
handled swiftly. Papers of the few Israeli vehicles are checked, one soldier
calling out numbers as the other consults a sheet of paper.The cheery soldier
says that they have received instructions "not to make trouble for the
Palestinians."
15:55 Habla. We expected the seam line gate to open at 16:00, but a group
of waiting people say it will only open at 17:00. No
such indication on the gate, whose yellow sign has long, long ago forgotten all
traces of such markings. The greengrocer
says the new hours (17:00-18:15) are
based on the wishes of its users.
Weekly Digest 20.1.08-26.1.08
Report date:
01/02/2008
Content:
Bethlehem Area
Tuesday AM, 22.01.08
Bethlehem CP, 06:40: Fewer people than usual outside and
inside. 4 open posts, lines very short,
crossing quick. Was it the stormy
weather? A group of people who tried to
find shelter from the heavy rain under the very small roof at the entrance,
were driven away rudely by the very unpleasant civilian guard.
Wednesday PM, 23.1.08
15.35, Bethlehem CP.
2 booths open, 30 people waiting in the large hangar. The soldier receiving
them was efficient and polite, speaking in Hebrew and Arabic. It was a cold
afternoon (5-7 degrees) with a piercing icy wind. When larger numbers of Palestinians arrived,
they had to wait outside the building, which they did in a quiet and orderly
way, until the security guard ushered them in, about 20 at a time. When about 60 people were waiting, we
asked for another booth to be opened.
The soldiers replied that he was forbidden from talking to us. But at
15.55, booths were open and the Palestinians passing smoothly and quickly (5
minutes outdoors, 2-3 minute indoors). A few women, including one with a baby
in a sling, were given priority both by the waiting Palestinians and by the
soldiers at the booths.
Abu Dis Area
Tuesday PM, 22.1.08
Abu Dis is like a ghost town. Nobody coming or going through the old
bawabe. Almost no one in the town
center, where most shops are closed. The
Cliff Hotel
area gets shoddier from week to week.
Sheikh Saed.
A few people going back and forth.
The shops there are also closed, having lost their Israeli customers.
Olives crossing.
Almost completely deserted, not even taxis to pick up or drop off people.
Container CP.
A line of vehicles stretching as far as the eye could see in both
directions. Within seconds of our
arrival, it started moving very quickly. Occasional spot checks held up the
lines, but every so often, the BP would escape the cold into the booth, and
cars would speed through. 20 Palestinians were waiting for their IDs below the
CP. When we left, 25 minutes later, they were still waiting in the pouring
rain.
Wednesday PM, 23.1.08
15:15, Olives terminal,
Palestinian side. A cold day,
and only few people attempt to cross at this hour. We were able to enter the terminal, and so crossed ourselves. After 2 turnstiles (both governed
electronically, but the first was open to all), one comes to the plate glass
windows where one shows one's ID. Coats
and bags are laid on a roller into a magnometer, like at airports. Passage was swift and eventless in both
directions.
16:00, Container CP. Just a few cars in each direction, no queue,
no delay, no detainees. Passage
swift. A group of workers trudged up the
hill from the direction of Bethany
(since the road is one-way), and they too crossed in no time.
Qalandiya Area
Thursday AM, 24.1.08
A foggy morning.
06.25, Hizme CP. A very long line of traffic. Same upon our return at 08.30.
06.30, Qalandiya. 3 lines of people extending all the way to
the parking lot. The few women and
families with little children proceeded to the head of the queue. Passage took about 20 minutes. 5 windows were
open. Some people had to remove their coats.
By 07.30, pressure was over.
Road 443 Area
Wednesday PM, 23.1.08
Road 443 connects Jerusalem
with Ben-Gurion airport. Palestinians whose land was expropriated for this road
were told it would be a "Peace
Road", accessible to all the
communities neighboring it (totaling about 20,000 people). For a time it
was. The villages bordering it created
industrial and commercial activities that thrived from their relations with
Israelis who had easy access to them and bought products at much reduced prices.
One such venture was a marble factory belonging to A's family. We saw what is
left of their enterprise after Israel
laid cement blocks that prevent transportation of goods between the villages
and road 443: dismantled machinery, men
sitting around with nothing to do, small slabs of marble scattered around. 5 cement blocks destroyed the economic life
of these communities. They also cannot export their products to Ramallah,
because what was a 10-minute drive has become a 1.5 hour drive on bad roads
that make transportation of marble slates very dangerous.
Beit Sira CP.
Local drivers waiting for the builders, who left their homes at 4am, to take them to building sites
inside Israel
or in settlements. These drivers spend
most of their day just standing around the CP. The alternative is to sit at
home. One told us that since he cannot
get a permit to work outside the village, a friend lent him an old car in which
brings workers to the CP in the morning and picks them up in the afternoon
after work. He makes about 30 NIS a
day (charging 2.5 NIS
each way per person). With this he can
still save face in front of his wife and children. "All our life is full
of danger. I am 35 and have not had a good day in my life. How can you help
us?"
Among the returning builders was K, who
told us that he and his 2 sons worked in Nazareth
for 2 months but were paid only for one. The
employer owes each of them about 3,000 NIS,
and despite innumerable calls, refuses to pay the debt. Such exploitation is not new, but it becomes
rampant when the authorities ensuring that the Occupation continues unharmed
work together.
Nablus Area
Sunday PM, 20.1.08
Shavei Shomron.
We occasionally revisit this once busy CP, now closed and forgotten, the
main road looking more and more like many of the OPT's smaller unkept roads.
The colorful barricade is tightly locked, and not a soldier in sight.
15:15 Beit Iba. Few vehicles coming out of Nablus,
never more than 5-6 in either direction, but a
plethora of soldiers, with little to do.
The situation is reversed at the pedestrian CP, where there is a huge mass of
people, mainly at the turnstiles, both working.
60-80 plus young men wait patiently to come back from Nablus
midst the usual din of shouting soldiers and shrieking magnetometers. At times
the humanitarian line is also full. When
it's empty, many young men try to advance on it, usually to no avail. The DCL
rep tries to facilitate, but is put into the awkward position of dealing with
men who plead and plead, occasionally with some success.
8 young men in the detention compound,
who we can no longer reach. They tried to go round the CP. No, not as
"punishment", which is not allowed, but as an "army rule which
allows holding them for two hours." Other young men who've reached the
checking booth are turned back to wait, all over again, at the endlessly long
turnstile lines. Each has to remove
"everything that is metal." Belts, phones, money, etc. Plastic bags
and briefcases are also examined, and the process is endlessly slow and
mindless.
16:00
-- at the vehicle checking area, all buses are checked, soldiers entering and
checking IDs. An elderly woman steps out of the humanitarian line, hobbling
badly, trying to mount the bus to help her across the CP. A soldier at the bus
doorway refuses to let her in, despite the DCL rep, and she continues her way
painful way across.
Tulkarm
Area
Sunday PM, 20.1.08
12:50 Habla
(on the seam line). The relaxed soldiers
know nothing about when the gates reopen after they close them at 13:00.
There is nothing written down, but the locals are expected to know the
rules. However, this batch of soldiers
are easygoing, and the locals are relieved.
14:00 Qalqiliya. We are greeted, in English, with: "I'm
not allowed to talk to you." before we say a word. A long line of vehicles out of Qalqiliya,
being checked oh so slowly, and the same for an equally long line of vehicles
entering Qalqiliya. A car with yellow
Israeli license plates is not allowed to enter the city. A pickup truck was pulled over to the side,
where the policemen prod its tires, look at numbers, peer under the hood, cross
to their jeep, bring the men over, return to the pickup truck, and on and on,
for 25 minutes! One of the four passengers says it's a government vehicle, but
the police believe it's stolen. Finally, the passengers cross on foot, and the
vehicle is driven away by a policeman "to have it checked".
17:20 Anabta. In the darkness, a slow endless parade of
vehicles both to and from Tulkarm; as the streams approach the soldiers, lights
are turned off for soldiers to better view the occupants. Nobody is stopped,
IDs not checked.
17:50 Jubara. Flashing lights on the roadway, and of the
police car at the entry. Every car,
ingoing or outgoing, is stopped.
18:00 A-Ras. Darker, but less cold here. Few vehicles in either direction. Taxis coming from Tulkarm are stopped, IDs
checked by flashlights.
Hebron Area
Sunday PM, 20.1.08
16:45.
Sansana-Meitar CP - As last week, few workers returning, and
they are processed immediately. The
delays we saw on the first day of "privatization" appear to have
disappeared.
Tuesday AM, 22.1.08
05:00. Tarqumiya, - A
few transits on the road. Many workers
had already passed. They thanked us for coming, and said that we aren't there,
they are held up or harassed, sometimes forced to stand in the rain for up to
45 minutes. The wait now was up to 10 minutes. It was pouring and freezing, but
no one complained about the weather. Around 850 workers passed between 5 AM and 7 AM when we left.
