BEIT IBA, Wednesday 16 June 2004 AMObservers: Orit B., Shalva C., Keren S., Hanna A. colour = red>08.00 Beit Iba There have been considerable changes at the checkpoint, and its commander, 2nd Lt. M, said it was going to be improved.The soldiers sent back a young man who had no passage permit. He arrived with his mother, their taxi had been involved in an accident (they showed the picture of the damaged vehicle) and they were now on their way to Nablus to deal with the insurance. Then there was another family with Jordanian nationality: the son had no ID card , only a passport, but he was registered in his mother’s documents. The District Co-ordinating Office (DCO) informed us that there should be one of their officers at the checkpoint. We couldn”t see him [the DCO is the section of the army that handles civilian matters; it generally has representatives at the checkpoints, ostensibly to alleviate the lot of the Palestinians]. A man arrived and was not let through for lack of a permit. He tried to argue. One of the soldiers told him loudly to scram (“Uskut”). To another person , one of the soldiers said: “All these children are yours? Look at that, a football team!”A couple arrived, the wife was pregnant and had no ID card . One soldier let them through but another ran after them and took them to the commander. We asked him to help and he wrote down all the woman’s details and said he’d have a [security] check run on her. Meanwhile she was waiting in the blazing sun.A couple who had tried to go through earlier (the husband was sick) were turned back. The soldier moved elsewhere and then the couple were allowed through. A crippled father on crutches hobbled towards the checkpoint with his two children.A taxi approached, closer than permitted. An elderly woman in a wheelchair emerged. The soldiers sent all the waiting Palestinians back, halted the checks and rushed towards the taxi.Another couple was having problems. They wanted to visit the wife’s parents but the husband was under 30 and had no permit [Palestinian men aged from 16 to 30 — recently down from 35 — fall under suspicion on security grounds at all checkpoints and are usually held while their ID card details are cross-checked by the General Security Services — also known by its Hebrew acronym as the Shabak or Shin Bet — this check, done by telephone, can often take up to four hours and sometimes more]. Our attempt to lobby on their behalf was unsuccessful. To reach the village, the wife will have to travel by taxi to Deir Sharaf and climb up from there with her two small children (one a babe in arms). 09:45: The pregnant woman was still waiting. It was getting hotter. M. took the details again, this time of the grandmother of the woman’s father !10:00: The checkpoint was crowded; there was a very long line of cars towards Nablus – trucks, cars, auxiliary vehicles.10:05: Shots were heard from an some unknown source.A man who had a vehicle permit on humanitarian grounds (his three children suffer from a genetic disease) was sent back. The soldiers didn’t examine the details and refused to let him through. He came over to us. We approached the soldiers, who didn’t react; then we went to M., who refused at first – he said transporting children wasn’t a humanitarian reason. When the father brought him the children’s papers, M. decided that the permit was valid., went over to the soldiers and explained. The father, mother and children all went through.The DCO representative did not appear .10.25 — There was an unannounced roadblock shortly after the Jit junction towards the Tapuah junction.10.40 — Huwwara There were Israeli police at Huwwara North. People were summoned by megaphone even when they were standing close.2nd Lt. Y. sent back someone who had come through Huwwara South, telling his counterpart there , “Do what you like with him.” There was a line of women, another of young lads and a third of older men.A young boy was also sent back to Huwwara South after Y. had decided that he was under 15, and had told him to bring his father and his birth certificate. He told the southern checkpoint that he was sending him back. After some time the boy returned. Y. again refused to let him through and sent him to join the detainees. He told us that anyone under 15 has to bring his parents and his birth certificate.12:10: The unannounced roadblock was still there.