BEIT IBA, Thursday 12 August 2004 AMObservers: Esti S, Ruti V, Naomi S, Lia L (reporting) colour = red>Summary:An easy watch (from 08:00 to 09:30). The company that has been manning the checkpoint for the last six months functions excellently. Especially good was the soldier checking the exit from Beit Iba. The few detainees were released after several minutes.The area is being redesigned: a team of soldiers – who specialize in building checkpoints in this region – had constructed the base for a sheltering roof over the entry lanes into Beit Iba and over the detainees’ area, and were now building the base for the exit lanes. They were also using turnstiles but since there were no signs, there was some confusion. A soldier explained in Arabic where to go through. There was a relaxed atmosphere on both sides.The soldiers, unlike those who manned the checkpoint last week, talked to us and said there were still problems with the turnstiles and that in future they would operate it. The commander, H., arrived at 09:00 and said his policy was to get detainees through as fast as possible because a concentration of people was dangerous [detainees are typically young men aged from 16 to 30 who have no passage permits. The checkpoint soldiers phone their ID details to the General Security Services (GSS) which cross-checks them against a central list of security suspects and then phones the results back to the checkpoint. This cumbersome procedure, which often takes a long time, can take even longer if the checkpoint soldiers wait to accumulate a batch of ID cards before they contact the GSS, or if they wait to get back a batch from the GSS rather than releasing individuals as clearance comes through for each. During this time, the detainees are virtually prisoners at the checkpoints since the soldiers retain their ID cards until clearance arrives. In this instance, the soldiers behaved in an exemplary fashion and managed to get answers quickly ]. He claimed he’d never heard of a policy of punishing detainees by delaying their release. He noticed that the construction team was not being guarded and gave orders for two soldiers to guard them against stabbings.There were detainees in the special area for 10 minutes: they were released a few minutes after we arrived. Another four were detained during our watch, and also released after a few minutes. Checking of permit-holders was rapid. There was just one common line for men and women who went through after showing their permits. The few trying to pass without permits were checked by an Arabic-speaking soldier, who let most of them through. We were pleasantly surprised by two cases: an elderly man was sent to the front of the line by the soldier and let through immediately; similar consideration was shown for a 17-year-old and his mother en route to Nablus for medical tests, but without the required papers.Vehicles , including ambulances, were checked (doors were opened and papers checked) and all went through.It was an encouraging watch, which proved that it could be done this way.