Beit Iba, Mon 5.5.08, Morning
07.20 Beit Iba
On the way we stop at Shavei Shomron to see if there is any activity with settlers going to Homesh but fail to see anyone. The gate is locked as usual.
Arriving at Beit Iba the checkpost is empty of cars crossing. There are about 30 people in line to exit. Checks on vehicles are quick – about 1 minute per car exiting.
There are 3 detainees in the "jora". The officer in charge is very energetic and has detained a doctor who does not have a permit for his car. After about an hour in detention the officer releases him after giving him a lecture and he has to go back. A taxi driver is detained for causing a "balagan" with his vehicle.
We advise the officer in charge that there is no humanitarian queue and women are made to stand in line with babies and young children. The officer finally relents and a separate line is created.
We sense a tense atmosphere, confirmed by the liaison officer. People are nervous and agitated and the situation could easily ignite.
09.40 We leave. The parting comment of the officer in charge is:"It is my job to make things difficult for them (the Palestinians)."
Beit Iba
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A perimeter checkpoint west of the city of Nablus. Operated from 2001 to 2009 as one of the four permanent checkpoints closing on Nablus: Beit Furik and Awarta to the east and Hawara to the south. A pedestrian-only checkpoint, where MachsomWatch volunteers were present daily for several hours in the morning and afternoon to document the thousands of Palestinians waiting for hours in long queues with no shelter in the heat or rain, to leave the district city for anywhere else in the West Bank. From March 2009, as part of the easing of the Palestinian movement in the West Bank, it was abolished, without a trace, and without any adverse change in the security situation.
Jun-4-2014Beit-Iba checkpoint 22.04.04
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