Huwwara 23 March 2005 Watchers: Nina S., Tushka K., Tsila L., reporting: Chana A. On the way to Huwwara, on Road 5 – Marda, one exit is open the second is closed.8:10 a.m.33 cars at Tapuach Junction.8:15 a.m.Huwwara NorthHeavy traffic into Nablus, light traffic leaving Nablus.8:40 a.m.One held.After a few minutes a young man (apparently a student – exercise book in hand) on his way to Nablus, waves hello to the person held. An aggressive soldier, jumpy, who is supposed to instruct those leaving to put their belongings through the checking machine, is not happy with the wave. Obviously he does not know Arabic so he asks the man “do you speak Hebrew?” “Who is that?” (referring to the man held). He takes the young man to the D.C.O. officer H., who is sitting by the hut, so that he can translate for him. He touches the young man, who is presenting his I.D. card, authoritatively on the shoulder. He lets him through. In addition, the soldier is eating bread throughout the time he talks to the young man (we did not see if crumbs were flying) as well as when he spoke to others.If he is not by the checking machine when women leaving Nablus cross, he shouts “Shanti, Shanti’ you” at them.We can relax (???) the same soldier talks in the same manner to his friends as well.9:45 a.m. (The man held is still there and N., the officer, says he is ‘being checked’).As we were about to leave for Beit Furik a man who lives in the Nablus area approached us and requested our help in getting the army to return his car to him. About two weeks ago his 17-year-old son drove the car without a licence in the environs of Jericho. The police stopped the son and released him but the army confiscated the car for ‘checking’. The man had already been to the police at Ma’aleh Efraim, there he was told that he can take the vehicle away. He also went to A’atef where the vehicle is held, but the guard did not allow him to take his car. The man gave us his details and those of his vehicle. The vehicle licence indicates the previous registration of the vehicle as well as the current one. The licence is valid until October 2005. Nina contacted the D.C.O. in Jericho and Matan from the D.C.O. told her that no vehicle with that registration number showed up and the man should go to the Palestinian liaison office in Nablus.Today (Thursday) I contacted the D.C.O. again, after I spoke to the man who said that he had been to his liaison office. He was on his way to the vehicle. Matan from the D.C.O. in Jericho blamed the Palestinian Ministry of Transport who did not up-date the Israeli Ministry of Transport about the change of registration (so how did the man get a vehicle licence in Hebrew, with an official stamp and which showed all the details??). Only after coordination between the Palestinian Ministry and the Israeli Ministry who will update the Israeli D.C.O. can the matter be dealt with.What can we do? How can we help the man to get through the beaurocratic jams?At Beit Furik the soldiers are bored. The roadblock is working in its arbitrary way and people continue to be dependant on the soldiers at their post to press a button. Although there are two soldiers at the checkpoint, both of them are working in the direction of Nablus and whoever is at the entrance side has to wait, until we draw the attention of one of the soldiers to the situation.10:00 a.m. we returned to Huwwara. The man held is no longer there.At the junction, in the area of the crossing, civilian police are checking Palestinian documents. So now that the southern roadblock is not staffed, the police in blue have not abandoned the territory. No, of course they do not mean to harass the locals. They argue that the check is ‘a public relations’ activity and can be compared to the ‘high places’ like Singapore.10:30 a.m.Tapuach Junction on the way back. 33 cars.