BEIT IBA, Saturday 3 July 2004 PMObservers: Dina G., Tammy P., Shirili P., Ruth P. (reporting together) colour=red>13.00 — Beit IbaAbout 20 detainees stood on one side, and some 300 people were on line at the checkpoint. It was very hot, and there was no water. Passage was slow and the soldiers were rigidly intent on keeping order, so there were frequent calls of : “The checkpoint is closed till everyone moves back!” etc. Only one of two shade shelters was in use because the soldiers insisted that people stand at a distance from the actual checking station. Pressure eased after an hour, mainly thanks to a woman soldier who was relatively efficient and familiar with the checkpoint.The detainees had been waiting for three hours. Among them were two elderly women and some children, from Sarra, detained because, quite unwittingly , they had been standing in the vehicle track and not the pedestrians’ track. After a few calls to the District Co-ordinating Office (DCO) [the army section that handles civilian matters] and the army’s “humanitarian” hotline, we were assured that a DCO officer would be sent. The commander was not willing to expedite release or even to discuss releasing the women, although (so the DCO informed us by telephone) detaining women is forbidden. In the end, the officer in charge of the checkpoint arrived, and so did a major from the DCO; we talked to both of them about detainees in general and about the detention of women in particular. When we left, the checkpoint commander had begun releasing the detainees. We encountered two unannounced checkpoints: one on the way there, on the right turn from Beit Iba, where there were about four taxis in line, and another on the way back, at the left turn towards Jubara, where there was a very long line.