BEIT IBA, Saturday 21 August 2004, AMObservers: Yvonne, Sharon, Nurit (reporting) colour=red> The physical conditions at this checkpoint had changed a great deal since our last ‘watch’ and have been described in earlier reports from Beit Iba. About 15 men were detained , pending receipt of security clearance [detainees are, typically, men aged between 16 and 30 who do not have passage permits. Their ID details are relayed by the checkpoint soldiers to the General Security Services (GSS – aka the Shabak or the Shin Bet, the Hebrew acronym) which cross-checks them against a central list of security suspects and then relays the results back to the checkpoint; this process is cumbersome and can be further lengthened if the soldiers wait to accumulate a batch of ID cards before relaying them to the GSS, or if they behave in a similarly tardy manner before returning ID cards at the end of the process, prior to releasing the detainees. Meanwhile the detained Palestinians are virtually held prisoner at the checkpoints since the soldiers hold their ID cards throughout]. One of the detainees was especially annoyed – he claimed that he had been waiting for over two hours, and that people who’d arrived after him had already been let through. This after he had been let through the day before to attend a wedding in the city. The soldiers explained that they were not responsible for the length of the check. In answer to other questions, such as permission for university students who were not from the An-Najah University to enter the city of Nablus , they replied that the city was ‘closed’ to men between the ages of 16-30 since, according to them, it was from Nablus that 60 per cent of all attempted terrorist attacks had started. There was no such closure in other cities such as Tulkarm and Jenin. In general, even if the soldiers did not agree with the Machsomwatch position on the checkpoints (as could be seen from the conversation we had with them) they were very polite and ready to explain. The District Co-Ordinating Office (DCO) representative present also showed a willingness to help [ the DCO is the army section that handles civilian matters; it generally has representatives at the checkpoints ostensibly to alleviate the lot of the Palestinians] This shift also observed events at the Jubara checkpoint—please see separate report under the Tulkarm region.