Ar-ras, Beit Lid, Anabta, Jit, Azzun; Wednesday 02/08/2006 AMObservers: Rina Tz., Nati, Inbal R. (reporter)Amit Y. (translator) Summary: Closure continues. The encirclement of Jenin, Tul Karem, and Nablus is getting tighter. The Jit roadblock signals the return of “Bidul”—apartness—which is the army’s attempts to cut off the north of the occupied territories from the center of the territories.In the Tul Karem area it seems more efficient, in cases calling for special attention, to speak with army commanders directly, rather than to call the IDF Humanitarian Center. 06:50, Irtach: closed7:00, Ar-ras: Exit: banned for males of age 15-30, residents of the Tul Karem and Jenin areas.Entrance: freeNo queues in any direction. 7:25, Beit Lid (south exit, en route to Ar-ras-Far’un): no checkpoint. 7:40, Anabta: Exit: banned for residents of the Jenin area. Banned for males, ages 15-35, residents of the Tul Karem area. There are about 30 cars waiting in line; the wait lasts about 90 minutes.Entrance: pedestrians allowed through after a thorough checkup. Drivers and their cars’ passengers pass through with no checkup at all. No cars waiting in line to get in. Because of construction work, this roadblock which serves 180,000 people, closed yesterday at 10:30 AM and reopened only at 16:00. Today they plan to close it down again at 10:00 AM. From a distance one can already hear the checkpoint commander shouting. His behavior is rude and apathetic. The army allows him to exercise humanitarian discretion, but his use of this right is narrow bordering in vindictiveness toward the civilian population. For example: A couple arrives at the roadblock; she is a Jenin resident suffering from knee pain and has a hard time standing on her feet; her husband, 54 years old, supports her. They present the commander with a referral to a hospital. The commander’s verdict: the woman is allowed to pass, the husband is not. We call the IDF Humanitarian Center; they promise to call us back with an answer. The woman sits down on a rock at the side of the road. Half an hour later, she despairs and crosses the checkpoint alone. To this moment, the Humanitarian Center hasn’t returned their promised call (12 hours after our application).A taxi driver tells us that a soldier kicked him, but declines to complain through us (perhaps he is afraid). The checkpoint commander denies. Tammy Cohen from Machsom Watch applies to the brigade commander asking to minimize the number of hours the roadblock is closed for constructions. The brigade commander answers that the construction work is necessary, and that the army does its best to minimize the inconvenience caused. The population was notified in advance, and ads were placed in newspapers. Until yesterday the work was conducted at night, but some remaining work has to be done during the day. They will try to complete the work within 3 days. Tammy also told the brigade commander about the elderly couple who asked to go to the hospital together. The brigade commander answers that the checkpoint commander made a mistaken judgment call, and that if we come across such situations again we should report immediately and directly to him (to the brigade commander). We are unsatisfied by both answers. It seems to us unreasonable that an essential passageway be closed for long hours in the middle of the day, with no alternative route provided. And regarding the humanitarian incident: we are not, and cannot, be at the roadblock all day long to complain of inhuman treatment. It is unreasonable that a brigade commander blames a junior commander who is only a sergeant. When a sergeant gets to make all the judgment calls at a checkpoint and he acts arbitrarily, then the mistake belongs to those who appointed him. But we learned a lesson. In the Tul Karem area (unlike Nablus) we seem to have a proper work-relation with a few officers. In special cases in Anabta and Ar-ras, better off calling Tammy Cohen immediately—who is in contact with the brigade commander—than calling the IDF Humanitarian Center, which cannot handle its heavy workload. 10:30, Jit: Checkpoint on Road 60 towards the south: residents of the Jenin area are barred passage. Male residents of the Tul Karem and Nablus areas, age 15-35, are also barred. We tell the commander here that soldiers at the Beit Iba checkpoint send people who need to go to the Civilian Administration in order to request permits and official papers to Huwwara. But the way from Beit Iba to Huwwara passes through Jit, and because the Jit roadblock is practically closed, people are faced with a Kafkaesque situation: those who need passage permits cannot get through to the place where these passage permits are issued. The checkpoint commander’s answer is that one can also go to Nablus through Gannot. We’re surprised by this answer: we’ve never heard of such a passageway, and none of the maps we hold indicate a place by this name. A settler driving a semi-trailer drives through the roadblock in such a way as to almost crash Rina between his truck and the cement blocks of the checkpoint. The driver rolls down his window and starts yelling: “hope you die, whores” etc. The soldiers smile; another settler, encouraged by their response, approaches us and adds his curses. Earlier today, the soldiers forbade us to approach Palestinians under the pretext that they are concerned with our safety…Another checkpoint at Jit on road 55 towards the west: everyone allowed through after checkup. 10:50, Azzun: Both exits towards Road 55 are blocked, and so the village is cut off from Kalkilia and Nablus. There’s an exit from the tunnel towards Ar-ras. As far as we know, the south exit (towards Bidia ad Road 5) is open.