HUWWARA , Tuesday 1 June AMObservers: Yael P., Nurit V., Etti P. (reporting) colour= red>Huwwara South 08:30 — There were about 50 people in line. Heavy earth-moving equipment was working in front of the checkpoint, where the ‘detainees’ ditch’ used to be. Two brothers with a thick wad of papers said they were summoned yesterday to court in Nablus to sign documents relating to insurance payments for their father’s death in a traffic accident. Sgt. M. said they should have obtained a permit, they replied that they didn’t have time. In the end, he let them through.There were two soldiers inside the “sleeves” facing the Palestinians who were waiting in two lines (young men and women). One of the soldiers, whom we’d seen before, behaved reasonably, the other was rude and aggressive and unresponsive. He refused to give his name. Sgt.M. said he’d talk to him, but nothing seemed to change. He took medical referrals from Palestinians and refused to return them. M. said he was punishing them for presenting referrals to Jerusalem hospitals and claiming they were for Nablus.Huwwara North09.10 — There were seven detainees. A reservist Border Police officer who refused to give his name, was furious when we told him they’d been waiting two hours, and he denied it. Twenty minutes later there were 12 detainees. Among them were two young men and a child coming from a village close by the checkpoint to obtain a magnetic card, with a summons to appear at the District Co-ordinating Office (DCO) [the army section that handles civilian matters] that had today’s date. One (with his 11-year-old brother) went through, the other didn’t. 2nd Lt. Y. explained that they made random checks of people with proper permits as well.Four taxi drivers said they had been detained on Saturday when they drove too close to the checkpoint, and their vehicles were confiscated by a soldier in a white DCO jeep. One said he had waited yesterday till 22:00. A fifth one related that he had collected his son from hospital in Nablus yesterday and had driven to the checkpoint so that the boy wouldn’t have to walk in the sun. The vehicle was confiscated and he was given a note confirming that the confiscation was for four days. Y. checked the large pile of keys (at least 20), couldn’t find the note and admitted that they might be right. Meanwhile two drivers left and Y. gave one of them a note to return at 18:00 to get the car. The second driver got a note to return next day, because this was his second “infringement”.Huwwara South 10.35 —An old woman who looked very sick and yellow was in a state of near-collapse on the concrete barrier beside the cars. A young man, perhaps her son, who was very emotional, tried to explain to us in Arabic. We somehow gathered that she had arrived by ambulance, that she’d been waiting in line but had stepped aside because she felt ill. Eventually the ambulance arrived and took her. While she was standing there, S. the aggressive soldier, shouted at us that because of us, the Palestinians cheat and exploit our presence. Nurit told him we have the right to be there.A young man who was treated at the Nablus hospital after being beaten at the checkpoint on Saturday and was detained at Huwwara, wanted to go through to Nablus for a check-up. He talked to M. from Physicians for Human Rights, and she asked me to ask him to identify the soldier who had beaten him, but to do this cautiously, and let her know because they wanted to submit a complaint. He identified ……S.. I wanted to let Y. respond before I gave the name and went to talk to him quietly at Huwwara North . He said the incident had happened after an Israeli officer had been mortally injured and brought to the checkpoint for resuscitation and the checkpoint had thus closed down for two hours. The crowd had been disorderly and the young man “ran riot” and had to be calmed down.Back to Huwwara South. I give M. 2nd Lt. Y.’s version of the story but said that it was our impression that S. was capable of such conduct when under pressure. We then encountered the two young men and the boy who’d obtained magnetic cards but now weren’t being allowed back in. S. interrogated the older brother and demanded the child’s birth certificate. S. said the older one could go through, but not the child. The older brother protested and S. sent him to wait on the side. The soldiers explained that since a young boy was discovered at the checkpoint with an explosives belt they have been told to ask for birth certificates from all older children, but they just can’t cope with it.11.55 — We had to leave to bring the next watch. There were still 12 detainees waiting in the sun.