BEIT IBA, Thursday 10 June 2004 PMObservers: Natalie M., Adi A., Menuha M. (reporting) colour = red>Summary: A relatively calm watch. Most people allowed through the checkpoints; few detainees whose documents were returned relatively fast. The soldiers didn’t cooperate with us, but most behaved correctly, apart from two who were particularly coarse.14:50 — There were five trucks and 20 pedestrians waiting to enter Nablus. Pedestrians went through within 15 minutes and trucks after half-an-hour. At first there were four detainees and then another six. Among them was a taxi driver whose keys and passport had been taken an hour previously. He said someone had taken his car, and that perhaps it had been stolen. At 16:30 the passport and keys were given back. Other detainees were an employee of el-Kuds University and three inhabitants of Deir Sharaf, who were told they were being detained because they didn’t have permits – the [new] demand for which came as a total surprise to them. We approached the army “humanitarian” centre , and, either because of our appeal or because things moved fast, they were released 10 minutes later.At the exit from Nablus, there was a line of some 50 people: women, children and men, and all went through relatively fast. The number remained steady throughout our watch, and no special problems emerged apart from the addition of new detainees whose documents were returned after no more than 45 minutes. Two strange cases arose: Passage was allowed to a woman but her husband was detained — someone was working by the book; and a Red Cross employee, with documents to prove it, complained to us that one of the soldiers had suddenly asked him for a permit, and even threatened that if he didn’t present one next time he wouldn’t go through; we asked the army’s hotline and they told us it was a local order dreamed up by the soldier on his own initiative……We went home at 17:10 and to our regret left 12 new detainees behind. We took the telephone number of one of them to check later if they had been released but couldn’t establish contact.