Hawwara – Tapuach Zaatara Junctino, Sunday 24.7.05 PMObservers: Tal H., Noa P., Yehudit B., Naomi L. (reporting)Suammry: no news at Tapuach Junction – prevention of traffic southbound continues, the number of soldiers checking vehicles never exceeds two, the waiting line numbers a constant 30-40 cars, no less than 2 hours waiting, and no one answers our phone appeals. To say nothing of the unbearable heat.15:00 – only 2 soldiers checking cars at Tapuach Zaatara Junction, a third soldier standing watch at the settlers’ passenger stop across the road. 4 Palestinian women,2 babies in their arms and a 6-year old boy get off their vehicle and begin walking. More women with children and bundles and some elderly persons are having trouble walking. When they pass the checking post, the soldier barks his “Whoa, whoa, whoa!What? What?? What???” at them, in order to make them present their IDs and get his okay to proceed. In minute finger gestures he signals the vehicles to approach the post.We called the army’s hotline and the Brigade spokesman and requested additional manpower for this post and a DCO representative who did not come until 19:00 when we left. The answer we got was “there’s shortage of manpower”.2 detained young men say they’re Palestinian Authority policemen, detained for nearly 2 hours. They’re sitting at the side of the road in the merciless early afternoon sun. The hotline tells us that ID checks take a while and are most important. After about an hour and additional calls about them, they are released and returned to Nablus.Waiting in line is unbearable lengthy, and anyone who can tries to shorten it. A car with a disabled person tag is made to go back to the end of the line. So are a father with his baby son and medical documents, that do not merit even a glance from the soldiers. Cars with Red Crescent signs are no exception. A waiting line is a waiting line and at Tapuach Junction the law must be seen, not just kept.A militant settler youth asks us in passing, “Watching over the Arabs?”A young woman with a sick 3-month old baby girl and a 10-year old daughter are prevented from proceeding to the village where they live. The ID address is Nablus but the woman tells us they stay with her father in the village. She’d gone to the doctor in Nablus and now has nowhere to go. She sits down on a rock and we begin another series of phone calls. N. of the DCO (the only one answering the phone) is at home and promises to call the brigade HQ. After about an hour of waiting in the sun, she is allowed through, but her taxi fare has already been paid and is long gone, and she starts to walk away.17:00 – we left the junction to continue on to Huwara CP, heavy hearted, having counted 40 waiting vehicles.Huwara Checkpoint:17:20 – 2 detainees in the pen. One of them forgot to get rid of a picture he had of a martyr (shaheed) and they are very scared. As we arrive, they are released.Several dozen people at the turnstiles. CP commander I. welcomes us warmly and says that when he can, he adds soldiers to check vehicles exiting from Nablus so they won’t be held up too long. We did see that the line was extensive, and the pedestrian crossing was swift and with no extra pressure.There was no DCO representative present at Huwara CP, either.We spoke with the Brigade Spokesman about the goings-on at Tapuach Junction, and asked how the army could set up a permanent checkpoint there and not man it sufficiently. We keep getting these explanations of manpower shortages, even about the DCO rep. The latter is constantly needed, and without him, no one takes care of the problems that constantly arise, even such that the army like to call “humanitarian”.Back to Tapuach Junction:We were surprised to see that added manpower was found – 7 soldiers, 2 of them officers. But the checks were still carried out by one soldier in the same old way. A group of French tourists riding a Palestinian taxi drove up to the head of the waiting line and created a sort of “diplomatic incident”. An officer demands their passports. They exhibit their passports and entry visas but refuse to hand them to him, saying this is their private possession and they will not part with it. “Who ever does such a thing in France?” asks one of them. “In France people don’t blow themselves up!” answers the officer. “And why do they do that? Because of the Occupation.””This is not Israel, this is Palestine right here.” etc. First the officer tries to educate them about waiting in line. Very soon he realizes he’s dealing with free people who are not living under the occupation and are not afraid, and lets them pass as they happily signal the V sign to us as they drive through.Traffic is constantly prevented from moving through. At Huwara CP I. told us that 2 days earlier O. of the DCO warned people coming out of Nablus that they would not be allowed to continue driving south, but they all resolve to try their luck.Once in a while, settlers stop when they see us and send us their blunt “blessings” and “compliments”. The vehicle checks proceed slowly, every car according to different criteria. Sometimes they open the trunk, mostly checking only IDs.Cars prevented from proceeding make a U-turn and only then get back their IDs.The sights are heart-rending. They argue, plead, try to explain while the soldier performs his little finger-pirouette, and finally they give in and turn back.An Israeli van driver who transports Palestinian workers stop next to us and tells us that in the morning this checkpoint shows its true cruel colors. The soldiers brutalize Palestinians hurrying to work, a settler regularly hangs out there feeling very much at home, giving the soldiers orders. He (the driver) doesn’t understand the point of a checkpoint in the heart of Palestinian territory and wants to write a complaint to the regional commander and to parliament members.19:10 – the line is constantly 40 vehicle long, 2 soldiers on duty, the extra officers who did not contribute a thing to the proceedings are long gone, one soldier checking.Some of the cars will probably still be waiting there when night will fall on Tapuach Checkpoint.