Ar-Ras, Anabta Thursday 8/06/06 PM Observers: Smadar H., Ofra(guest), Daniella (guest), Shlomo (guest), Deborah L. (Reporting) Summary:  We expected things to be very tense because of the news this morning about finding Eliyah Asheri’s body in Ramallah after he had been kidnapped. However, it was “business as usual” at the checkpoints only with less people and less vehicles at the checkpoints.  DETAILS: At A-Ras checkpoint(14:10 – 14:42) detainees (Palestinians who had been in Israel with out a permit) were not kept long, traffic was light, some soldiers were willing to talk to us and others not. There were no restrictions.  14:10  2 soldiers at Children’s Gate. They make us wait for 10 minutes before they let us pass to A-Ras. They refused to to speak to us. 14:17 At A-Ras there were 4 detainees who we were told came from Taibe and did not have permits for being in Israel. We were told by the soldiers that the detainees had been there for 10 minutes. The detainees told us a half hour. There are 6 soldiers .  One in the tower, 2 at the check point coming from Ar-Ras  and  2 at the check point from Tulkarm. The checkpoint officer moves around. There were 10 vehicles from Tulkarm and none from Ar-Ras. We are told that there are no restrictions and everyone can pass through after being checked.14:23 Supplies are brought in a large army van and the traffic is halted while goods are unloaded. A soldier tells Shlomo that he has already called in the detainees ID numbers. Sometimes, the soldier claimed, they wait a long time before even calling them in and then the procedure takes much longer.  This time, however, it was done right away. 14:28 The supply truck leaves after  beeping its loud horn at us any number of times. Why we don’t know since our vehicle is not in their way. The traffic that was held up from Tulkarm is now released and so are the detainees. A small crowd of pedestrians (about 20)    has gathered and are being shouted at by a soldier. He wants them to step far away from the checkpoint booth and to come only one at a time before he will agree to check them. Some cars are waved through, some are thoroughly checked. Some taxis just drop off their passengers instead of waiting on line.   The passengers then walk through the checkpoint and pick up other taxis on the other side.14:42 We leave. Anabta Checkpoint(15:00 – 15:40)  the traffic coming into Anabta was barely checked so there was not a build up. We were told that there wasn’t a particular hot alert. The soldiers seemed relaxed. Israeli Arabs were  allowed in ONLY if they were  visiting close family. The traffic from Anabta was as heavy as usual and we couldn’t ever see the end of the line beyond the hill . The vehicle which was 15th on line when we arrived at Anabta (and there were endless vehicles behind him) didn’t make it to the front of the line for another half hour.   The car that was 23 rd on line when we arrived was 12th on line when we left which was 40 minutes later. This means that it took 2 to 3 minutes for each vehicle so being 30 th would mean at least an hour wait and most likely up to an hour and a half. And, of course, if there were 40 vehicles or more on line the wait can be 2 hours.  It was helpful that there were 2 soldiers checking the traffic coming in and 2 checking the traffic leaving and that there was a computer situated in the tower where IDs of people were checked immediately if there was any suspicion. No one was detained more then 10 minutes.  15:00 Anabta  No line up of traffic going toward Anabta. Endless cars from Tulkarm. I can count about 30 before the hill blocks my view.  I note  number 15 on line and number 23. Two soldiers are checking in each direction. 15:05 A taxi driving to Anabta is pulled aside so as not to interfere with the flow of traffic while the IDs of the passengers are checked on the computer. The computer is kept in the tower. The taxi is released at 15:16. We are told that the only restriction is on Israeli Arabs.  Only those with close relatives (and have a copy of the relative’s ID) can enter. “Naturally,” says the soldier, “we take an extra look at those between 15 and 30.” 15:11 A taxi driver who has gone through the checkpoint from Tulkarm without stopping, is stopped and his ID is taken away.   However, after talking to one of the soldiers who knows him well and to the officer, his ID is returned and he is on his way. 15:13 A line begins to form with vehicles to Tulkarm. There is a bottle neck of traffic because a truck coming from Tulkarm has gotten in the lane that is for the incoming traffic. An ambulance has put on his siren and there is a general feeling of chaos. This passes after about 5 minutes. We are told by the soldier that he recognizes a lot of the truck drivers and lets them pass through but he has the right to send some one back if he feels he can’t check them.  There are some trucks that may have too many goods to really check well.15:34 The truck that was 15th on line when we arrived. has now made it to the front of the line. There is still and endless line of vehicles beyond the hill. 15:41 We leave the truck that was 23rd when we arrived is not 12th.   We head for Beit Iba. __._,_.___