Beit Iba, Thursday, 19 May 2005, PMObservers: Galit G., Roni K. (reporting).15:30 – 20:00.15:30 – 15:40 – Jayyus:Following one of the emails we decided to go to the village of Jayyus. We didn’t manage to meet A-L., the contact man, but we did reach the locked gate 25, and we saw a fence that prevents the villagers from accessing their olive trees and also how the pastoral scenery is torn by the fences. Beit-IbaTwo central events kept our shift busy. First – the arrest of a young man who was on his way to his engagement ceremony in Tulkarm, but was arrested and taken for an examination. Only during the evening did we manage to get the information that he is held in Kedumim for an unknown period– all this without informing his family about it. Secondly – the detention of a young woman, who was accompanied by her mother, for a long time, during the second part of the shift. It should be noted that there was no DCO representative present all through the shift, and neither a humanitarian queue, although we suggested it to the soldiers. Another matter is the closing time of the checkpoint. The soldiers were ready to close everything down at 19:30. After a discussion with us they “agreed” that humanitarian cases would be able to go in until 23:00. The DCO’s version was that everyone was able to enter until 23:30. In practice, people continued to go in and out until 20:00; all this because the mysterious answer about the woman who was detained did not arrive, to the discontent of the soldiers. 16:15 Even before we arrived at the new and ugly polls at the entrance to the checkpoint, we were welcomed by people who asked us to help a woman whose son was arrested and was taken earlier and since then she is waiting helplessly. We were on time to meet O., the man who led a stubborn struggle to get a stand, right by those same polls. 16:20 At the checkpoint itself a long queue of about 100 people, most of them men, waiting to go out. This will be true for the major part of the shift.We meet, of course, the mother, anxious and mumbling, we try to calm her down, unfortunately not knowing Arabic, people who pass by translate for both of us. 16:25 A series of phone calls to the humanitarian center, DCO and to the brigade’s commander. In the meantime, we watch the dense men’s queue, one of the soldiers standing by the turnstiles, is in charge of keeping the people to stand at a fixed distance and that only one person at a time would approach, just like in a bank. The women do not have their own queue; however, because there are only a few, they are passed quickly from the side. We ask the soldiers to open a special queue, for the elder men, but our suggestion isn’t accepted. 17:00 A long queue of vehicles going out, which are checked by the same system of keeping distant. A phone call to Y. from the IDF spokesman office regarding the detainee. The anxious mother, mumbling, is all the time by our side. We try to calm her down, but she seems lost, as someone who doesn’t understand what is going on around her. But maybe she does understand and we are the ones who still don’t?? 17:10 Voices of bitterness are heard from the queue. 17:15 Another phone call to R., from the humanitarian center, in order to check again on the guy being arrested. At this point he informs us that the he is still being inspected and we start to realize that the engagement will not be today. The mother also knows that. Tired and worn out she decides to go home. With the help of a translator we exchange phone numbers. 17:30 – A. from the humanitarian center calls us back about the humanitarian queue; he passed our request to the brigade. After a short while he calls again to say that the soldiers opened the queue, we tell him that we do not see it. How come such a simple step requires so many special calls and authorizations? 17:40 – we call the division about the detainee. 18:00 – we go to the taxi’s area and count on the way a long queue of about 20 cars waiting to enter the checkpoint. 18:20 – we return, go to the place where they check the cars (Qusin Junction) – the number of cars decreased significantly. At the checkpoint the queue is short, almost empty. We make another phone call to the division regarding the detainee. This time a female soldier answers in an angry voice. She doesn’t want to talk to us. Soon after that Y. returns to us to say that the matter is not in his hands and that he cannot help. He confirms that the engagement will not take place today. 18:30 – a mother and her daughter on their way home to Nablus from a family visit. The daughter is sent to the detainees shed (apart from her there were no detainees in this shift). It turns out that she studies at A-Najah. She speaks good English and we communicate through the dividing wire. The mother, who herself is not detained, chooses to stay with her daughter. 19:00 – the checkpoint is quiet, almost empty. 19:10 – a large group of people at the entrance, returning from work, pass quickly. The soldiers are trying to rush the inquiry about the detained women, but it seems that once the procedure started, it’s hard to stop it. The operations’ officer informs us that the detainee is detained at the division and that he’ll stay there for at least a few days. 19:30 – the soldiers are getting ready to close the checkpoint and go, some of them leave. However – the women are still waiting. The not so young mother is patient, but looks exhausted.19:40 – two couples, one with a boy, reach the checkpoint. They are on their way to Nablus. They pass after a short series of reproaches. 19:50 – a group of women passes the checkpoint. 20:00 – the moment of release arrives, we leave.