JUBARA, Tuesday 15 June 2004 AMObservers: Micky P., Ruthie, Maya M. (reporting) colour=red>06:30 The checkpoint was open to pedestrians and vehicles with no delays. In Irtah, the traffic was busier than in the past few weeks. Palestinians on their way to work in Israel reported that Border Police women had open the gate at 5:30. One of those waiting for transport told us that the road to his village, Saffarin (a few kms east of Irtah ) was blocked, so now he has to travel 19 km to get here. He also reported that for a long time now, there has been no garbage collection in his village. We drove to the entrance of the village, which lies between Einav and Avnei-Hefetz. There was no signpost. The road was blocked with boulders for several dozen metres beyond the entrance. We saw a huge pile of garbage. A man on a donkey told us that the garbage had been dumped by Jews [Israeli settlers]. He claimed that the road had been blocked for 18 months, so residents have had to make considerable detours to get to Irtah. On the way back to the checkpoint, we veered right to the village of Shufa. At the entrance we encountered a group of people, one of whom offered to show us the closed-off roads. In addition to a closed road leading to Tulkarm via Avnei-Hefetz, the road to nearby Izbat (with 1,000 inhabitants) is also blocked . At the edge of Shufa (1,500 inhabitants) we saw from a distance a large, impressive-looking new house on top of a hill. When we got closer, we saw an Israeli flag and camouflage nets covering the roof. We asked what this meant, and our guide explained that the house belongs to the Aref family whose head is the ex-mayor of Tulkarm. The family had lived there for three months after its completion, and since then – for the past two-and-a-half years – the army has occupied it. The family had gone back to Tulkarm. We asked if the family had been reimbursed and were told that they had not. In the village we ran into T. who told us that his cab had been confiscated two days earlier, when he tried to get to Ramallah without a permit. He also showed us the receipt indicating where he could reclaim his car tomorrow.Back at the checkpoint there was a new commander now, who was particular about cleanliness and proper parking procedures. Two adults and two children had been detained. Another child, who had tried to get to Jubara, had been caught by the commander, dragged by his shirt, and told to stand by the cement slabs. We also saw bags full of rags, confiscated from one of the detainees. They were returned to him when he was released. Two men were released soon after our arrival. Two of the children were released later. The child caught by the commander was detained. Micky spoke to the commander who said he feared the boy was a terrorist “who might blow up all my soldiers.” If he had rags to sell, “let him sell them in Tulkarm.” We asked him to allow the boy to go back. He was released as we were leaving.