BEIT IBA, Monday 23 August 2004 AMObservers: Edna M., Ronny S., Ruhama, Rachel A. (reporting) colour=red>07:30 – Since last week, a roof had been added to the checkpoint and a labourer from the civil administration was cleaning it all the time. There was a lot of quarry dust in the air. Throughout our watch, there were long lines on the four tracks at the entrance to Nablus, and only a few soldiers, facing a large crowd, which caused delays.All in all, there were eight detainees throughout the shift, waiting more than two hours; they were all older men who didn’t understand why this had happened to them today [ detainees are, typically, men aged between 16 and 30 who do not have passage permits. Their ID details are relayed by the checkpoint soldiers to the General Security Services (GSS – aka the Shabak or the Shin Bet) which cross-checks them against a central list of security suspects and then relays the results back to the checkpoint; this process is cumbersome and can be further lengthened if the soldiers wait to accumulate a batch of ID cards before relaying them to the GSS, or if they behave in a similarly tardy manner at the end of the process, before they release the detainees. Meanwhile the detained Palestinians are virtually held prisoner at the checkpoints since the soldiers hold their IDs until GSS clearance comes through] . Communications between the checkpoint commander and the GSS were disrupted, and that delayed release even further. A momentary lack of coordination between the soldiers meant that the women’s line went through for a while without permits and with smiles, but this was cut short. The soldier pondered what to do, decided against punishment and order was restored. People with medical and other problems ( e.g. pregnant women, women with small babies etc. ) were dealt with promptly.10:00 – We left while the detainees were being released.In general, this was a routine shift . As a new volunteer, it seems to me that our presence moderated the soldiers’ behaviour, perhaps even made them more humane than they intended, and this was to the benefit of the Palestinians