BEIT IBA, Sunday 20 June 2004 PM Observers: Shelly M., Naomi L. (reporting together) colour =red> A military position is being built for the soldiers at Beit Iba (inside the checkpoint).When we arrived, four students had been waiting for five hours and were not being allowed into Nablus to sit an examination. They asked our help. The army “humanitarian” centre knew about them and was dealing with their problem. In our presence, the commander received a call from the District Co-ordinating Office (DCO) [the army section that handles civilian matters and often has representatives at the checkpoints, ostensibly to alleviate the lot of the Palestinians] instructing him to let them through (after checking with the university). M. requests that they inform the brigade, which should brief the battalion, because he takes orders only from the battalion. It naturally took a long time. An argument between the DCO officer and M. produced no results. The awaited permission did arrive after an hour, but by then the examination was already over and the students had disappeared from the checkpoint.A young man wanted to enter Nablus for the funeral of his cousin, killed in a fall from scaffolding. The whole family went through but he was held back. He had no chance of going through and must go to the DCO to obtain a one-time permit for a mourner’s visit….perhaps. That was what he was told by the soldiers. But he insisted on attending the funeral. We asked M. to help and he did let him through, just for an hour, and on condition that he deposit his ID card. When we left, he hadn’t returned and M. left with the ID card in his possession. . Before we went, we briefed his replacement on the case, but we don’t know how it ended.An old woman, all on her own, leaning on a stick and on her way to Rafidiya hospital, could barely move but had to go through the whole checkpoint line on foot. With the courteous aid of the soldiers, we halted an ambulance that would take her to the hospital. A group of young women from the Olof Palme Centre in Sweden wanted to reach Nablus for a meeting. The soldiers refused to let them through. They insisted and a DCO representative was summoned who asked that the Swedish Embassy take responsibility. They tried to persuade him differently and we don’t know if they got through or not.A busload of women, children and babies arrived, and the driver showed permits. They were en route to a wedding; nevertheless they were all told to get off and, in all their finery, they crowded in a disorderly fashion around the checkpoint. The soldier halted the checks, and tried to push them back. The women didn’t cooperate and he, instead of insisting, let them through rapidly ( but without missing out on a single present or parcel). It took 15 minutes.A student studying in Nablus insisted on returning home before Wednesday, which is a festival. He had completed his studies, had nobody in Nablus, his wife and baby awaited him at home in Tulkarm. The answer was negative. The army’s “humanitarian” centre called us back with a positive answer when we were already on our way home. We hope that answer also reached the soldiers. Between five and 15 detainees were sitting under the weird shelter left behind by the reservists who were serving here and waiting two, three and four hours. Almost all of them were released [this usually happens after the soldiers receive security clearance for the detainees from the General Security Services (GSS) — also known by the Hebrew acronym as Shabak or Shin Bet — which maintains a central list of security suspects against which detainees’ details are cross-checked after they have been phoned in from the checkpoint; this can take up to four hours and more, and during this time the detained Palestinians — mostly young men between 16 and (now) 30 — are virtually prisoners since they cannot leave without their ID cards which are held throughout by the soldiers]. Those who had been caught trying to evade the checkpoint were also given an “educational punishment” so that they won’t do it again. As if they have any choice….Finally, a word about the soldiers: they didn’t diverge an inch from the regulations but worked fast and efficiently, didn’t create unnecessary problems, and were quiet and courteous. A soldier explained to Shelly that they mustn’t talk to us because that might change their opinions. M., the checkpoint commander, denied it and explained that they had to concentrate on their work and he didn’t want to distract them, and they shouldn’t say things that they must not say (??)