Huwwara and Beit Furiq. 6 October 2005 Watchers: Chava H., Chana B. (reporting)There is great tension at the roadblock. The soldiers all have their weapons ready to fire. The sensation is that any incident, no matter how small, will cause a flare-up.The proceedings are extremely slow, everything is checked meticulously, one at a time. Buses and taxis cross more slowly than usual and the justification for all this is: “As far as I am concerned there can be hassle and the Palestinians can suffer – the main thing is that my soldiers are protected.” So says the roadblock commander. Highway 60: between Jerusalem and Huwwara there are five roadblocks. Two of them are permanent – Chizma and Tapuach – and three ‘surprise’ roadblocks which, as is well known, surprise no one – at Sha’ar Binyamin, and at the entrance to Mizra’a e Sharkiah and at the entrance to Tormus Aya.Huwwara7:00 a.m.There are few soldiers at the roadblock and the traffic of pedestrians is still light. The cars are checked very slowly and the queue unfolds like a sinuous snake. The only voice heard, continuously, is that of the girl soldier shouting “ta’el, ta’el”. Only one turnstile is functioning worked manually by a soldier, who is covered by another soldier, whose weapon is aimed straight at the faces of those crossing. For some reason not all those crossing speak fluent Hebrew – what a nerve – so shouting is necessary to make the ‘meaning of the text’ clear.7:20 a.m.The snail-like pace continues in the line of buses and taxis. A female and male soldier get the passengers out of the cars, collect their I.D. documents and check them all against a ‘shortened’ list in their hands. Meanwhile they laughingly flirt between each other and make loud calls to the soldiers on the other side of the road.A detained taxi stands at the side. The driver sits indifferently in the car. He is used to hold-ups. Each time the soldiers claim that his document is forged. The soldiers pass the document from one to another, hold it up to the sun to see it properly and finally bring a magnifying glass. The verdict is ‘the document is forged’ and they call the blue police. When the police arrive the long process starts anew of an in-depth discussion of the quality of the document. The driver is called for a body search which takes place behind the blue police jeep and includes removing trousers. Now he is asked to get into the police car and is taken for interrogation to the D.C.O. About a quarter of an hour later he returns, with his document, and the mountain has given birth to a mouse. We asked for the telephone number of the driver and were treated to an insolent and aggressive verbal assault from the policeman. The person with a rifle in his hands and a uniform on his body is the man in authority, with the power – and who are we anyway – just simple citizens with no uniform and no rifle.7:30 a.m.The overcrowding builds up. Everyone is asked to stand quietly and straighten the queue. Now another computer is started up and the checkpoint is reinforced. Parcels are checked on the ground, but slowly – slowly, slowly and meticulously “because we are all suffering a trauma – there was an attempt to stab a woman soldier and she is seriously injured”. Who distorts facts? In the newspapers and on the radio it was stated that the soldier was lightly scratched. Women cross, on the whole, without being checked. However, when a veiled woman arrives she is asked to raise her veil and roll back her sleeves. When the woman complains the woman soldier answers: “I don’t care, don’t bring out any knives.”There is tension behind the turnstile. People shout and a row breaks out between those in the queue. The soldiers shout at them “Oskot, oskot” (quiet, quiet). At the same time a ‘joke market’ about Palestinians develops – and shouts of yallah and ta’el interfere with ‘the neighbours’ rest’.Discussions with officers on the spot were in vain. “There are no personnel” “There are people armed with knives”, etc. Even the telephone calls to the Brigade, to the Central Command and to Yehuda & Shomron District Command did not change the situation. Finally we understood that ‘that’s the way it is now’ – collective revenge and punishment.In the afternoon we saw a banner headline in ‘Yediot Aharonot’ saying that internal roadblocks will be lifted, significant relief for the Palestinians, etc. – we thought maybe we had lost our way and were at the wrong address…When we left at 10:30 a.m., nothing had changed. The flow of pedestrians did not decline, the queue of cars continued to crawl with one bus crossing every thirty to forty minutes. Despair!Beit Furiq10:45 a.m.The roadblock, once full of people, is deserted now. There are very few pedestrians and only two cars. Possibly the reason is the late hour – or maybe everyone has given up in despair. We left after a quarter of an hour.On the way back on Highway 60 – again and again snap roadblocks – but there is almost no traffic. Tapuach is also deserted.