Huwwara, Za’atara, Dir Balut, Wednesday 3.5.06 PMObservers: Gili B. & Yossi L. (visitors) Micky P., Hagar L. (reporting)Translation: Hanna K.14:00-19:00Movement and passage restrictions:1. Dir Balut – a complete blocking of the passage southwards (Ramallah, Hebron etc.) for all the Palestinians living north of the CP (the districts of Jenin, Nablus, Tul-Karem, Kilkilya). The complete blocking of the passage for a few hours (at least between 13:00 and 16:00) also for the Palestinians living south of the CP, which means that people could not return to their homes (for instance inhabitants of Salfit and Ramallah).2.The village of Ad-Dik – an earth mound blocks the exit northwards3.The village of Baroukin – an obstacle made of three earth mounds on the exit road to Barkan industrial park and from there northwards.4. Za’atara Junction – The passage southwards is allowed only in order to return home. A complete blocking of the passage for all the inhabitants living north of the junction: the districts of Nablus, Jenin, Tul Karem, Kilkilya.5.The town of Beita – An obstacle made of earth and rocks on the exit to road no. 60.6.The town of Huwwara – curfew since 03:00 in the morning “in honour” of the independence days celebrations of Israel. All the shops are closed.7. Huwwara Junction North – a barrier for those coming from the Huwwara CP from the direction of the exit from Nablus and from those coming from the Jit Junction at the West.8. Huwwara Junction – a complete blocking of the passage for the inhabitants of Jenin and Tul Karem, to whom it was completely forbidden to enter Nablus, even from the north and from the west. Young men of 16-30 from the district of Nablus are forbidden to leave southwards from Nablus. Even those inhabitants of Nablus who are allowed to leave, are forbidden to drive southwards from the Zaatara Junction.A quiet protest against the CP at Huwwara – there are new signs of protest against the CP by young people who try to bypass the CP and youn people who protest loudly while standing in the queue, by shouting and singing. All the young men who tried to bypass the CP were not prevented, according to army regulations, from passing through the CP. All during our stay at the CP we say young men trying to pass but not through the turnstiles. Also young men tried to drive on the Apartheid road from Huwwara to Awwarta, although they know the regulations.Details according to periods of time14:15 – Dir Balut CP (on road 446, south of the trans-Samaria road) – the passage southwards is completely blocked, even for those inhabitants who are heading home: for the inhabitants of Salfit, Ramallah etc. The settlers pass freely, but an Israeli citizen from Jaljulia, with her two small children, is forced to wait for long minutes until the checking of her ID is finished. When I ask the CP commander “if the CP is closed for traffic why don’t you tell this to the drivers, to prevent them from waiting in the queue for nothing”? he answers “and what if there will be a terrorist there?”The passage northwards is slow, although the checking itself is superficial.-A driver from Salfit was not allowed to pass. Tami talked to the Brigade Commander E. who confirmed that this was indeed the instruction. When she contacted him to say that people cannot return home he promised to deal with the matter and the result was that the passage, according to the people and the Liaison and Administration representative,was opened for passage of people living south of it, around 16:00 hours. Because the checking was so slow it took people another two hours to reach their home.-A man from Kilkilya, who was on his way for a medical check and consultation with a specialist physician in Ramallah, was not allowed to pass. It took many phone calls to arrange finally for his passage.14:00-15:00 – 14 cars are waiting (in vain) to be allowed to travel to the south. 7 cars are waiting to travel to the north.The people complain that the soldiers do not open the CP in the morning in time, sometimes at 06:00, sometimes at 07:00 and also at 08:00.Karwat Beney Hassan – Around 17:00 a message arrived from Yonathan Pollak according to which at the CP at Karwat Beney Hassan they are blocking the passage in both directions. I talked with the army center, who turned to the Liaison and Adminstration at Kilkilya. At 17:30 I talked with a person called Manzur who was on the spot and who reported that the CP had been opened for traffic.That CP is used for pedestrian passage only, since three weeks already. It was opened in the last six months for the free passage of vehicles, but after the last terrorist attach in Tel Aviv it has again been blocked by means of big blocks and was turned into a back-to-back CP for vehicles.15:30 Za’atara Junction – the traffic limitation principle: “only those who return to their homes” which means that all those living north of the CP does not pass (the districts of Nablus, Kilkilya, Tul Karem, Jenin). 30 cars are waiting in the queue coming from the north, there are three checking posts. A young man from Ramallah tries to go to his mother’s funeral, but the special taxi he took cannot continue its journey because the driver is from Shuffa, near Tul Karem. Although Salfit is south of the CP we met at Dir Balut a person who had tried to pass at Zaatara and was returned. He was told to pass at Dir Balut (which, as we reported, was also blocked for passage for several hours).15:45 – the town of Huwwara is under curfew from the early hours of the morning (3:00) therefore the soldiers’ claim that the curfew was imposed because children thres stones is not true!!! The inhabitants say that the curfew was imposed because of the Israel Independence Day.[we didn’t see the house which was taken over and nothing was told to us by the inhabitants, although we stopped to talk to them]15:45 Huwwara Junction North CP (Yitzhar) – there are 27 cars coming from the north, some just left the Huwwara CP and some arrive from the Jit CP, a few kilometers west from there.15:47 Huwwara Junction – There are 10 detainees in the enclosure because they by-passed the CP in the passage southwards, amongs them there are two students from Salfit whom I know from the shifts on Wednesdays. None of the detainees is prevented from passing according to the passage restrictions of the army. During the entire shift more young men who tried to pass through the field next to the CP, or through the path for pedestrians entering Nablus, or merely tried to walk on the lane reserved for cars, were put into the enclosure. As none of the by-passers were officially prevented from passing according to the passage restrictions of that day, I conclude that this is a kind of protest against the CP. Two young men from Awwarta who certainly are familiar with the apartheid prohibition to travel on the road near Hativat Shomron, traveled on that road in order to enter through the back-to-back CP to Nablus, and were of course detained. Their ride on the “forbidden” road didn’t even shorten their way from Awwarta. Therefore, in my opinion, this too was a protest. Besides the by-passers, a young man from the village of Odela (near Huwwara), whom I know personally, is also detained at the CP for the checking of his ID by the Security Service. He is being detained for a few hours each time he leaves Nablus. He has already requested a meeting with the Security Services representative to find out what they have against him, but his request was denied and in the meantime they continue detaining him. He was detained for five hours at least and was released at 18:25. During most of the time he stood at the entrance of the northerne checking cubicle, near the checking soldiers, until they enabled him to go into the detention shed and sit down there.16:10 – From this hour onwards and for two hours protest shouts, singing and rhythmic cries of “Allah Ahbar” were heard from ths queue which was mostle of students. During the time we were at the CP ( till 18:45) there were at any given moment at least 150 people there. We were unable to measure the time of the pedestrians’ passage but got the impression that the checking takes a long time because of the new system of uniting the corporal checking with the ID checking. Because busses were forbidden to leave Nablus, all the students are now passing as pedestrians at the CP, which very much increases the pressure, compared with the past. I hear that one soldier says to the other that is is impossible to accept a plea of a young man standing in the queue to enter the detention shed, probably in order to wait for his friends “what does he think, that this is a hotel?”16:15 – Now there are already 17 detainees, most of them CP by-passers.They ask for water, the CP commander R. brings them a container with the IDF beverage – raspberry juice. They ask for permission to go and buy water and food at the southern CP, and he allows some of them to do that.16:20 – There are only nine cars in the queue leaving Nablus, and although the time it takes for a car to pass is and hour and a half!!!16:30 – a handcuffed young man is led to the checking cubicle, according to the soldiers he has pushed a soldier. We didn’t see that, because we cannot reach the checking are which is near the car lane. He was held thus for an hour and a half and then was released. Our requests that his handcuffs be loosened are not heeded: “he might run away” (even as a joke this is not very good). But at least he is allowed to stand facing outwards, and all his friends who pass can talk with him. Then other family members arrive. It is perfectly clear to us that he is being punished for some kind of behaviour while standing in the queue.16:30 – In the end the humanitarian queue is opened and the women are now able to extricate themselves from the crowded queues. A father of two babies who was standing in the humanitarian queue argues with the CP commander who tells him to go to the regular queue as he is not forty years old. The father replies that he cannot stand in the crowded queue with his two babies. After the argument the commander finally agrees to let him pass through the humanitarian queue. A car is being returned to Nablus.17:45 – the group of the by-passers is released and sent to the end of the queue. I saw one of them leaving at 18:40 (55 minutes to pass the CP).18:02 – from the queue an explosion is heard. The checking is stopped for two minutes and then resumed but the humanitarian queue is closed altogether (as a punishing measure?)A tow truck today transports cars because Awwarta is closed. The soldiers at the car passage think they should let it pass, but a soldier who stands aside says that they are not allowed to return to Huwwara, because they got a permit only to enter Nablus. The Liaison Administration representative who finally arrived at 18:20 told the soldier that the driver has valid authorizations and that therefore one should allow him to pass. The soldier tried to argue. They stood aside and the soldier let the car pass.Beit Furik CP – Because of the pressure at Huwwara we did not drive to the Beit Furik CP but called Miky from the municipality and asked to get a permit for the passage of a vehicle through Huwwara so as to collect a young man from the village of Senjal whose father had just dies. B. from the Liaison Administration refused at first to talk to them because the major is from the Hamas. Miky’s proposition to serve as mediator was accepted. But the young man finally passed through the Hamra CP. The man from the municipality said there were no problems today at the CP but complained about a soldier called Ali who pesters people and doesn’t let them pass saying, for example: “I don’t like you face therefore I shall not let you pass”. Micky asked the Liaison Administration representative to talk to him or to his superior officers.18:45 – We leave the Huwwara CP and return through the Jit Junction and Jabbara. At the Huwwara north junction there are 22 cars coming from the north and the west. The Jit Junction is empty. At the entrance to Anbata there is a car queue. From the road we see that at the A-Rass CP there is a long queue of cars from the direction of Tul Karem.