Kfar Zur, Ar-Ras, Jubara, Anabta, Thursday PM, 11 May 2006 (14:00 – 19:40)Watchers: Nur B., Rachel H., Hagar L. (reporting)Summary: The shadow of a high-security alert and fuel shortages in the Palestinian Authority.Rolling checkpoints northbound near Azun, two a kilometre apart at Deir Sharaf before Beit Iba, on Route 60 between Jit and Deir Sharaf at the entrance to Samaria Industrial Area: at all these, ID checks and search of vehicles for suspects wanted by the army.Movement and passage restrictions: Kfar Zur Agricultural Gate 839 on the Separation Fence (previously called Gate 22) – no passage for holders of permits for nearby gates or 22. According to Palestinians, the DCO [District Coordination Office of the IDF Civil Administration, that oversees passage permits.) is not willing to issue new passes for Gate 22. Ar-Ras Checkpoint, south exit from Tulkarm, no passage for males aged 16-30 from northern districts (Tulkarm, Nablus, Jenin. Humanitarian cases [i.e. medical and special needs] in those age groups, only if emergency and at the discretion of the commander. No vehicles from the north, except Red Cross.Schoolchildren’s/Agricultural Workers’ Gate (753) , entry and exit only to holders of permits for this gate.Jubara Checkpoint – exit from Tulkarm denied to all except holders of Jubara village permits.Anabta Checkpoint, east exit from Tulkarm, vehicles allowed only if residents of Shufa, Beit Lid or Safarin or of southern districts (Ramallah, etc.). No exit for vehicles from north. No pedestrian exit for [males] ages 16-30 from north. Entry is permissible to all. Checkpoint is open to 23:00, and then only for humanitarian cases at discretion of commander and in consultation with DCO.Conversation with police at Anabta: we complained at the ease with which they give parking tickets to Palestinians, and the high amounts of the fines. They claim that they only give to vehicles standing on the road in a way that interferes or endangers traffic. As an example they quoted the descent from Ramin (where the army heaped earth and stones on the Palestinian parking lot). They say they don’t give tickets to taxis parked at the Beit Lid junction.Checkpoints by times14:10 rolling checkpoint by AzunNine cars in line from south, 15 from north (Tulkarm). IDs are taken from all (male) pedestrians and passengers and are checked by radio. The soldiers don’t have lists of suspects. The checks take a long time, the soldiers are inexperienced reservists and the line barely moves. The ninth car from the south passed after 40 minutes. The road is narrow and half blocked by spikes, so passing cars are forced to travel half in a deep ditch. 14:50 -The flow of passage stops altogether for a few long minutes, apparently because of a change of shift. 15:10 – We leave when it seems that the new team has begun to check continuously. The army Centre told us that there is no possibility of changing the checking method (by radio).15:30 – Agricultural Gate 839, below Sla’it; workers returning from Sla’it and farmers on tractors coming from their fields. A man with a pass for Gate 22 is refused. He lives in nearby Kfar Zur and is sent five kilometres to the Jubara CP’s Schoolchildren’s Gate. He argues that this was till recently Gate 22 , and the DCO isn’t willing to change the permit, even though he has a permit for the lands by this gate (we filmed the permit and will try to help at DCO Qalqiliya). The Sla’it security officer came to the gate (perhaps to ensure that their employees pass) and finally persuades the commander to let the last man through (seems to be a daily ritual).16:30 – Ar-Ras CheckpointCompletely empty of vehicles, though a few taxis wait for passengers southwards. Palestinians and soldiers both say that Tulkarm petrol stations have run dry, and people can’t drive their cars. A few cars descend from Jubara. We go up to the village and see 30 day laborers, male and female, returning through the gate. The soldiers inspect all IDs and permits. A youngster with a child wants to enter the village, but does not have the appropriate permit.16:50 – Jubara Checkpoint Seven day laborers in the holding pen, having returned from work in Israel without permits. A military policeman promises to release them as soon as he gets results from the check of their IDs. We don’t wait.17:00 – Anabta Checkpoint32 vehicles at the entrance to Tulkarm, 16 at the exit. A taxi driver from Shufa is being punished by the soldiers for bypassing the line: we met him when he reached the head of the line for the third time and was sent back to the beginning again. He says he has been waiting since 14:00 (3 hours). Mustafa at the coffee stand complains that the soldiers wont let him bring water. The commander allows him to erect his stand on the west side – not the east, and contends that the stand is illegal. We explained that he is not supposed to issue coffee stand licenses, and the only thing illegal is the checkpoint. Doesn’t help, and when I bring a container of water, the commander won’t let it through. A driver from Akraba wanting to leave Tulkarm is refused; seems that the commander doesn’t know the location of Akraba, and thinks it is in the northern district. A truck driver from Awarta bought a truck in Tulkarm, and wants to take it home the short way because he is low on fuel (there is no diesel in Tulkarm) is refused because of the restrictions imposed on this checkpoint. He has already waited four hours, and our phone calls don’t help.