Beit Iba, Jit-Anabta juction, Thursday, 16.2.2006, PM.Observers: Hagar L, Nurit W.,(reporting)Ill-treatment of detainees atJit, calm routine at Beit Iba, darkness and confusion at Anabta. Anabta 16.—Crossroads of Jit / Shave Shomron.A long line of about 24 cars from the tunnel to the crossroads. At the checkpoint a captain and two soldiers. We watched the road from the car. The soldiers bustled around but checked slowly. One taxi seemed to be detained. We approached them and one of them by the name of Snir started to shout in Arabic “Show your ID.” We told him we were Israelis and showed him our badge. He replied “In that case don’t talk to me. I will summon the police.” He also asked his commander to do so but the latter did not answer him. From that moment on he kept returning to the same mantra. He expended all his energy after that on ill-treating the Palestinians because of us to provoke matters. We explained to him very definitely that we were addressing his commander and not him for better or for worse.The ID of one of the passengers in the car was taken from him even before we arrived and had not been returned. We said to the commander that the pressure on the road was great and it was Friday. The connection with him was very weak. His manpower, over whom he did not have much control, consisted of a soldier who just wanted to find a reason to arrest someone or ill-treat them and another who only knew to speak in an aggressive and vulgar fashion. We phoned the DCO about the detainee. It seems that our presence did help as the line become shorter and the detainee was released. 16.30 – A lorry heavily loaded with parcels was detained and the driver ordered to take down each parcel and put it on the road. Hagar spoke to the commander, the DCO and the brigade to find out what the ruling was….if every truck had to take down all its merchandise. The answer was NO only if there was a definite suspicion. It was hard to find out from the commander if this truck was suspicious and he claimed that he checked randomly. But our phone call did seem to help and the checking was speeded up and not all the parcels checked and the lorry sent on its way. 16.50 – We went to Beit Iba and on our way to the old road to Shave Shomron next to Dir Sharaf. This is still closed to Palestinians but behind the checkpoint the way to Arraba is still open. The soldiers say that when the wall is completed the road will once again be open to Palestinians. 17.05 – Beit Iba. The pedestrian lane is empty. Here the soldiers are glad to talk to us. They are expecting the checkpoint to be closed. Few cars in either direction. From Nablus maybe mainly public transport because there is not pressure. It is very cold. The taxi-drivers make a fire to keep warm and around the checkpoint is dirty and neglected. 17.30 – We went from Beit Iba to again see what was happening at CP Jubara and Shave Shomron. 17.40 – Once again a traffic jam of cars from the east. Now there were 3 detainees. Hagar spoke to them and they said that they had been pulled out of a taxi an hour ago. We tried to get their ID numbers and explained to the commander that sometimes our phone calls speeded up the process and therefore it would be in his own interest but he refused. The sad truth was that the checking had not yet started. The commander gave the ID to the unpleasant soldier who did not stop rushing around and throwing out derogatory comments without any reaction from the commander (not even about the waste of time). He was supposed to carry out the check by phone from his watchtower about 100 meters from the checkpoint. At this point we started to make an intensive amount of calls to the operation room, the DCO and the humanitarian centre after we had given them the names of the detainees. We asked again and again that a representative of the DCO be sent because things were not exactly under control. 18.20 – As a result of our calls the commander began to take control of things, called Snir from his post and the checking of the IDs was completed. The detainees could be freed. But here Snir surpassed himself with a further abuse. He told the detainees to catch their IDs in the air in the direction of the road to the rocks behind him and if they did not succeed they would have to climb down into the ditch behind to get them out. Maybe that way they would break a leg. Of course it was impossible to talk to him but in loud voices we called the attention of the commander to what was happening. He however did not say anything to him about the waste of time or on his impossible behavior which is completely opposite to orders but at least told the men to come back to the road to get their IDs. But then he had another idea. “I want to talk to them.” And to us “So what? I am forbidden to talk to them?” He simply could not leave his toy alone.At the same time there were 3 other incidents. 1. A taxi was stopped and all the passengers got out. One of the passengers who was there with his wife had his id taken from him simply because Hagar had spoken to him. The soldiers told the taxi to go on and wanted to detain him but the driver waited. 10 minutes later we phoned the Centre and the taxi was freed.2. In the meantime there was a riot on the road. A large trucked by-passed on the right but the soldier decided to fall upon the driver of a commercial car who was in the correct lane and had advanced slightly so as to avoid an accident. He was ordered to go to the back of the line but refused angrily. The drivers started to argue and a fight nearly ensued. At this stage the soldiers decided to stop the entire line and stood by the side. The line grew longer and it was almost completely dark and the soldiers only had a very wavering torch which every now and again fell on the road. We tried to calm things and phoned the DCO but no help arrived. The truck driver got tired ofthis ( he had already stood in the line for half an hour) and so as not to further complicate matters he drove off to find another way. 3. A commercial tender was checked…its passengers were elderly. They had to take down the entire load on to the road and this included iron frames, wood and heavy building materials. One of the soldiers told them that they were checking them thoroughly because of us. They were very angry and at us too and it is better that we do not repeat their words. It was a complete absurdity. We wish to state that the entire time the commander had absolutely no control and left everything to the two angry, vulgar and abusive soldiers who did not make any effort to carry out their real job.18.30 – When the three detainees were freed after an hour and a half we went to ANABTA. THE CHECKPOINT THERE WAS COMPLETELY IN THE DARK, The army has no money for decent lighting for the checkpoint and also for the soldiers who serve there . Sad and disgusting. It is not hard to imagine what could happen in this utter darkness. The dark, the rain, the mud and the confusion…this is no security check.When we came there was complete confusion. Neither people nor cars were passing and everyone was shouting at one another. We phoned the DCO at Tulkarm why it was forbidden to pass and who could do so. It turned out that there was a closure. First of all some drivers of haulage trucks with Israeli ids were freed. Then pedestrians from Anabta to every place and cars only to Shupa. But nowhere else. 19.15 – A changing of the guard. The new captain said that there was a closure and shouted angrily at all the drivers to turn back. Hagar again phoned the DCO to find out if they could go through Jubara and was told yes…but that it was not definite. One of the drivers said he could not go back to Tulkarm and he was scared to stay where he was. The captain kept on shouting at him and then said “Go fuck yourself”. And in the meantime in the darkness a minor accident took place. We tried to calm things and to help some humanitarian cases but the result was one of despair. The worse was the humiliation of people who suddenly found themselves in a closure in a cold and dark place and with nowhere to go and cannot even get home. The helplessness of the few soldiers there too who had to work without light and without definite orders was also awful. About 20.00 some order was made and the commander said that all those going in should be told that it was not clear when they would be able to leave.20.10 – Before we left Hagar found out that some people had had their IDs taken by the blue police before the checkpoint (near to Deir A-Sharaf) and they could not leave without these. On the way home we tried to phone the police and find out what was happening. They promised to get back to us but of course and as usual did not do so.