JUBARA, BEIT IBA, Tuesday 27 July 2004 AMObservers: Lirona, Mickey P., Susan, Iris R. & Elinoar (reporting) colour=red>06:30 —Irtah Almost all the labourers were outside.The problem of labourers from the Jenin region is a worrying one. Anyone who makes it to Irtah after completing the “obstacle race” of checkpoints en route is sent back. One young man crossed by mistake, but it didn’t help him, because his whole group was sent back. As we wrote last week, the harassment that forces them to leave the Occupied Terrritories [for employment in Israel] via the Jalama checkpoint only is intolerable. We’ll continue trying to do something about it.JubaraIn Tulkarm, an “encirclement” was in place, following incidents and the army’s operation two days ago. Vehicles were denied passage and very few people were crossing.On the way to Beit Iba, there was an unannounced road-block at junction 411, because of alerts [regarding imminent terrorist action]. We waited in line for a long time, finding out what had happene, and eventually decided to bypass it like all the lords and masters of the land – otherwise we’d never have got to Beit Iba.Beit IbaFirst-Lt. M. was quiet-spoken but totally inflexible. When he insisted on something, even the requests made by the District Co-ordinating Office (DCO) had no effect [the DCO is that section of the army that attends to civilian matters; it usually has representatives at the checkpoints, ostensibly to alleviate the lot of the Palestinians]. An attorney who had to represent his client in the military court simply could not cross. And that was that!Uncompromising harassment, as usual. Though there were alerts about a “terrorist in a white Mercedes about to arrive at one of the checkpoints”, it didn’t prevent the harassment of people who did not answer this description.A young man from Tulkarm, going through with his aunt who lived in Nablus, presented the birth certificate issued by the Civil Administration in 1989, his year of birth. Unfortunately for him, he had the beginnings of a beard and moustache and B., the soldier, decided that he was older [males over the age of 16 and under 30, sometimes 35, need special permits to move through the checkpoints]. Anyone with eyes in his head could see that he was just a youth, not an adult. But it didn’t help. After all, he could take his brother’s birth certificate, he could smuggle in an explosive charge and blow up (Nablus?) – these were the answers. Phone-calls to the DCO, clarifications, inquiries, pleadings… ultimately, M. let him pass, after he’d waited for hours.A man with a permit allowing his vehicle to cross “at all checkpoints” was denied passage. “At all checkpoints” doesn’t mean at all checkpoints, for example, not at this one.A youth with medical papers and a serious back problem was taken out of an ambulance. He could hardly move. Why was he being taken off the ambulance? Because. In the end, he was permitted to cross.A soldier said to a veiled woman: “Come on, lift it up! ! D’you think you’re a Ninja?”