HUWWARA, BEIT IBA, Thursday 13 May 2004 AM Observers: Ofra K., Mickey P., Alona K., Yudit (reporting) color = red>Summary: An insupportable situation that’s now become the norm.08:10 – Huwwara SouthA new group of soldiers was staffing the checkpoint.At least 200 people were waiting, and no one was crossing. The soldiers were busy with tidying the line, screaming and brandishing their rifles all the while. They weren’t checking cars. There were five trucks in line (one driver said he’d been waiting for two hours).An ambulance carrying a baby, apparently seriously ill, had been kept waiting at least 15 minutes. We talked to the soldier in charge, the ambulance was checked and went through.Many sick, elderly people and children arrive here accompanied by a relative. And the same story is repeated, time after time – the companion isn’t the right age, and checks must be made. Even when the soldier tries to speed things up, the procedure is unwieldy.Apart from the soldiers’ threats and shouts at the Palestinians, nothing much was happening.Politely, the soldier in charge asked us not to disturb his men. At 08:30, I phone R. at the District Co-ordinating Office (DCO) [the army section that deals with civilian matters and frequently has a representative at the checkpoints, ostensibly to alleviate the lot of the Palestinians]. He came immediately, found a solution to most of the humanitarian problems and speeded up the processing of the line. Half-an-hour later, there was hardly anyone left in the queue. 08:40 – Huwwara NorthThere were a few people, ambulances and vehicles. Crossing took only a reasonable time. There were 10 detainees in the ‘pit’ [a slightly sunken area parallel to the passage used by the pedestrians] who were replaced about every 30 minutes.09:30 – Beit FurikThere was hardly any one there. Our impression was that things were going reasonably well.It seemed to us that our intervention wouldn’t necessarily help, so we left.10:00 – Beit IbaThe soldiers refused to talk to us; they’d received an order to that effect. We were only permitted to talk to N. Where was he? Expect him when you see him…At the southern checkpoint, there were a few young people — without permits — who wanted to cross for various reasons. They were treated crudely, almost violently (possibly our presence had a moderating effect).There were 10 detainees from 07:00 – 08:00 .A relative of one detainee passed sandwiches – through me – to all the detainees.A young man with a bandaged mouth, and stitches in his gums , had an appointment for gum surgery at 10:00. He’d been waiting since 08:00. He was not permitted to go until 12:00.A man of 45 (even though he was the ‘right’ age [Palestinian men aged between 16 and 35 experience great difficulty in moving from place to place in the occupied territories, even if they are in possession of the much coveted permit; this man was beyond that suspect age]) was detained for close to two hours because he had stepped over the line while waiting in the queue.O., [an officer whom Machsomwatch women have found to be helpful] who has now come back, tried to hurry up the checks, and in his tough way was very useful.An older woman from Ramallah, who had been discharged from hospital in Nablus and was bandaged, bleeding, and on a drip, was accompanied by her son. He was not the “right” age: how did he manage to get into Nablus? After being treated to some educational bellowing from O., he was allowed to cross through the checkpoint. We arranged transport for them (this has also become something of a complex operation. There are no ambulances and taxis are forbidden to drive up to the checkpoint).You can’t survive without bending the rules.Although the number of soldiers in and around the checkpoint was the same as the number of Palestinians, or even more, the whole procedure remained slow and cumbersome.Two soldiers in the pill-box opposite the metal-detector behaved with intolerable offensiveness.