Huwarra, Monday 24..4.06 AMObservers, Ada H, Edna C., Annelien K(reporting) guests: journalist Annie and photographer Kash making a documentary on M.W. On our way we were asked to look what is happening on the “road” near the industrial park Barkan and the Arab village of Burukin. Viewing from road 5 it looked as if a bus got stuck there and there were private cars and a few taxis parked, but no army present or blockade, so we continued on our way to Za’atra and Hawarra.The “cages” of Marda and Zeita were open today, but “no worry for our security”: just a kilometer or so further on a police-van was watching over all traffic and everyone passing on this apartheid road.7.15 Za’atra: 23 cars from W. to O. Drivers reported they already had been waiting there for over an hour with no end in sight. Looking at the slow progress – about one car every 5 or ten minutes – their report seemed very likely.The procedure is as follows: passengers get out of their car, all ID’s are collected by one of them and brought to the soldiers for extremely precise –and equally slow- individual checking by phone. Care is taken that everyone stands in a perfect line at the side of the road and keeps their distance of the checking post: 10 meters. (…Ordnung muss sein…) If anyone deviates from these procedures, orders are being barked in Hebrew (commanding officer of this checkpoint: “they all know Hebrew”) and the whole process slows down.It is so extremely embarrassing to hear what the teachers, directors, doctors, judges, and other people on their way to work are telling us, while they stand there waiting and being dependent on the whims and wishes of some grown-up kid, who draws all his power from a gun.A teacher living near Bidia has to make the long detour via Za’atra and stand for, literally hours to be able to reach her pupils in Salfit.A bank director tells us he comes from Kif el Hares where the population did not sleep that night: “hundreds of settlers came to the village and were singing loudly and praying near the Grave of Jehoshua; it must have been some feast or so”….To speed things up several people decide to leave their – paid for!! – taxi and pass the checkpoint walking, hoping to find another taxi at the other side that will to bring them to their destination.(N.B. until recently it was strictly forbidden to pass the checkpoint by foot and everyone had to find an empty seat in one of the passing cars to be able to pass the 10 meters of the checkpoint, now suddenly pedestrians are allowed.)At the other side of this now immense checkpoint Edna is involved in a case of 4 car-passengers who are being detained and bossed around (again in – not understood – Hebrew, needless to say) because of being in possession of the wrong ID’s. It becomes clear that somewhere 4 other persons received these now missing ID’s. Who cares that these people had to wait for over two hours until being allowed to continue??! When we try to get information on the orders of the day the only answer we get is “don’t bother us”. The general behavior of the soldiers is rude and rough.8.30: -The queue of cars coming from direction Hawarra is even longer : over 60 cars are waiting hours . We call both the “army’s humanitarian centre” and the DCO; both tell us they will try to do something about this situation.Edna stayed in Za’atra with the film crew, hoping to see the ”solution” of the mix-up of the ID’s, while we (A and A) continue to Beth Furik.8.40 – 30 cars at the “flying checkpoint” near Yizhar.8.45 – just two cars are waiting. Taxi’s are not allowed to pass from Beth Furik into Nablus and vice versa. Other cars pass promptly as do the pedestrians. Not many people anyway.9.00 – Awarta seems almost deserted. Hardly any trucks going into Nablus or coming out. The people that usually help with the “back to back” procedure hang around idle. One amiable chap that used to live near Tel Aviv shows us magic tricks; how can he keep this good mood and tell at the same time that two of his children were shot in either legs or arm by some Israeli soldier??!!He showed us his contacts with P.H.R.- doctors and tells us they help him a lot.9.15 Hawarra. Here too amazing few people.“To make life easier for the Palestinians” (!!) there are changes at the checkpoint. The PC’s for ID’s inspection are gone and one brand-new PC and one like the one that was used before are moved more towards Nablus and the checking of the ID is done at the same time as the body-and packages-search. Soldiers’ behavior is polite. All questions are being referred by them to the commanding officer, who at first does not want to give us information on the orders of the day, but later tells us that the complete separation (“bidul”) of Tulkarm and Jenin remain in force: no man or woman can pass Za’atra or Nablus and that men of the ages between 15-30 cannot go in or out Nablus.A bus was turned back as the special permit public transport needs was expired.10.30 – 3 cars at flying checkpoint near Yizhar.Between the last houses of Hawarra (!!) we see :”Kiduah Tapuah” a drilling of a water well, “safely” fenced in against possible damage (by whom ?)10.40 – queue of 44 cars from direction Nablus, 36 cars from west to east.N. from the IDF humanitary centre” will deal with this and call us back.