HUWWARA,BEIT FURIK, BEIT IBA, Thursday, March 11, 2004 PM Observers: Shelly N., Dalia, Ofra T., Nili P., Menucha M., Naomi L., Tamar L., + Avner – a photography student color = red>We set out from Kfar Saba in N.’s taxi at around 12:45 and headed for Beit Iba. We split into two groups: Menucha, Naomi and Tamar got out at Beit Iba and stayed there to observe. Shelly, Dalia, Ofra, Nili and Avner (the photographer) continued to Huwwara and Beit Furik.Beit Iba: report written by Naomi L. Although 24 hours have elapsed I still cannot overcome the feelings of anguish, frustration – despair, in fact – that marked this specific shift. As the numbers of detainees increased (ultimately reaching 120), each with his own life-story, so did our sense of hopelessness and helplessness. At first, I decided to write down each person’s name, how long he’d been detained at the checkpoint and so on. But after 20 people ( each of whom constantly asked “Why are you here ?”)I realised that I was going round in circles. I recognised the same feelings in Tamar’s and Menucha’s expressions. If this place didn’t exist, no one could have invented it – including “the wonderful guys who run it”.Judging by what we saw, and bearing in mind other reports on Beit Iba, delays are now the major problem at the checkpoint. We must see what can be done – perhaps via the foreign press, Knesset Members, or someone else? Following is a choice selection of cases (I have everyone’s full names, but prefer not to cite them for fear of sparking retaliation against them).- A veterinary surgeon, employed in the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Agriculture, was detained on his way to work – he didn’t have a permit. Two years ago, he told us, he was given a police ticket for speeding, his license was taken away, and he got it back after paying NIS 750 at the Ariel police station. When he applied for a magnetic card, in Qedumim, he was turned down on the grounds that he owed NIS 750 for the ticket. The driving license he possesses doesn’t prove that he paid the fine, and he didn’t get a receipt at the time. He has already applied for a magnetic card three times, and been turned down each time. Whenever he goes through a checkpoint, he is detained. Today he has been detained for six hours.- A young man with a swollen cheek, due to an infected tooth. He lives in Nablus and works outside the city. Was on his way back to Nablus to a dental clinic that closes at 15:00. Even a child could see that he was in terrible pain. Our phone calls failed to persuade A., the sergeant, to let him go. Even Maskit, from Physicians for Human Rights, said that toothache isn’t a sufficiently humanitarian issue – they reserve their “channels” for far more serious and urgent cases. But something moved apparently, because at 14:30 they released him – he was the only person released the whole day!- A young man and his pregnant wife from Jenin: she is a pharmacy student and had gone to Nablus, accompanied by her husband, to take an exam. They were now on their way back to Jenin. The wife was allowed to cross without hindrance, but the husband was detained. He said that his wife did not know how to get home alone. She stood and waited for him on the other side of the checkpoint the whole time; the soldiers refused to let them stand together on the detainees’ side. Both were there for a total of six hours. By the time they were released, it was dark and they had no idea how they would get to Jenin. We channelled most of our energies into getting permission for them to stand together. – A boy with a donkey – loaded with goods that he had to bring to the school where he works. He was detained for over seven hours, and of course couldn’t make it to work that day.- A young doctor, taken from an ambulance, after having worked three shifts. He was detained for four hours. His request for a magnetic card has also been turned down, because at the age of 13 (!) he threw stones at soldiers, and spent some time in prison. Since then he has graduated from medical school and is employed at a hospital. But he’s still considered a security risk, and cannot cross checkpoints freely or work in Jerusalem, for example – where he was offered promotion in a city hospital. – A Jordanian citizen – his passport was taken away and he was detained together with the others. When we left he was still detained, after most people had been released, and I don’t know what happened to him.- An obviously retarded boy – with his mother who was waiting with him to take him home – detained for around five hours.I want to draw particular attention to the behaviour of the checkpoint commander, sergeant A., who was officious and insolent to an extent we’ve rarely seen. He lacked all sensitivity and was totally oblivious to humanitarian cases (which the DCO officer would have released long before); he refused to listen and pay attention and received full backing from the area commander H. (who doesn’t do much more than look out for his devoted soldiers) and holds sway even over higher-ranking officers… who give the impression of being afraid of him. A typical example of a little man with far more power than he should really be granted and who behaves as if he were at least the chief-of-staff. Tamar filed a complaint with Knesset Member Ran Cohen, who promised to make inquiries at the army spokesperson’s office , and Menucha passed on a similar complaint directly to the spokesperson herself. Something must be done to remove him from the checkpoint, someone like him shouldn’t be allowed to work with the civilian population, even though his officers say he is an ‘outstanding’ soldier (his behaviour makes us think he is a settler).Menucha was also on the phone constantly. Today, as so often happens, we didn’t manage to do anything to help, because there was no DCO representative there. In my experience, these officers, who generally handles humanitarian cases, are prepared to listen and do try to behave like a human beings even though their hands are tied much of the time. Huwwara checkpoint – reported on by Shelly We arrived at 14:00. Only a few people at the checkpoint, but 20 people soon gathered. One man was detained at the side, on his knees, hands tied behind his back, blindfolded, with his head covered with a black plastic bag. As soon as Dalia came closer to him, a soldier went up to her and said “I was just about to release him, but not because of you”, and he made haste to release him, though without returning his ID.Two young men want to go through the checkpoint en route to Nablus, and seek our help. One is from Burin, the other from Ramallah. They have no permits or student cards. I don’t know how we can help them. Another large group of people joins the line. Now there are close to 50 people.A detainee named N.K. (we have full details), 18, says that an hour and a half ago soldiers took him from the gate of the school in Huwwara, and brought him here. They didn’t tell him anything, and now they also refuse to provide us with any explanation.They say they’ll release him at 16:00. His father left work, and is standing nearby, crying and worried. I let him speak by cell-phone to R. from the army’s humanitarian centre. When it emerges that he has hepatitis, I gave him the phone-number of Hades from Physicians for Human Rights. At 14:45, he is released (the soldiers are afraid of hepatitis).When we ask why the soldiers are detaining so many people, a soldier replies that they’d caught a suicide bomber here the previous day: he asks Ofra what she prefers – for Palestinians to be a bit crowded, or for there to be ten more bereaved Israeli families.At 15:10, a young man arrives – he attended a seminar with me at Neveh Shalom (Wahat el Salaam). His name is M., he’s a lawyer who lives in Abu Dis and works in Nablus. We are happy to meet, though not in these circumstances. R. from the humanitarian centre will try and help. We left the checkpoint before 16:00, but still hadn’t received an answer for him. Dalia goes over to the side of the checkpoint that deals with those coming from Nablus. She is accompanied by a CNN film crew and together they witness the abuse of a detainee (whose name we have). He has been standing in the sun some five hours, with thin plastic twine tied around both hands, behind his back, and at the ankles. He is also blindfolded with a piece of cloth. His shaven head is exposed to the burning sun. When Dalia gets there, she gives him water from a bottle. He thanks her in Hebrew. She asks the commander why he is being held in such conditions and is told that “There’s a good reason”. When she asks them to loosen the twine, because his hands are swelling, the answer is “We’ll try to shorten the time waiting for the police. They’re coming to take him for interrogation”. Finally, when the police come to collect him, they don’t untie his hands and feet but march him over pebbles towards the car. He can take only a two-centimetre step each time. Naturally he stumbles, and they pick him up and hold him by his arms so he can get to the car, but no one thinks about reducing the pressure a little. Dalia phones Physicians for Human Rights but can’t get through. She then phones MK Ran Cohen, but before he can help, the police have taken him away.When that horror ends, Maskit from Physicians for Human Rights phones us. She has only just received our message. We ask her to find out where he’s been taken (so we can tell his family) and she says that if we had the license-number of the jeep that had taken him something could be done, perhaps.Worth remembering:i. When someone is arrested and driven away – in whatever vehicle – write down the number.ii. In urgent cases, don’t phone the office of Physicians for Human Rights office – call Maskit’s cell phone. The CNN crew were very interested in Machsomwatch. They asked for material, and want to keep in touch. We said goodbye to them and the checkpoint, and drove to Beit Furik. 16:08 Beit Furik Fifty to sixty people wait to cross from Nablus to Beit Furik. They are examined with a metal detector (handheld) which is a long process. Detainees stand to the side, four of them handcuffed to one another. Next to them, the policemen who have come to collect them, as well as a large trailer on which two cars are being loaded, possibly belonging to the detainees.At 16:26, the police cars drive off with the detainees. Around twenty people e still wait , as well as seven cars.At 16:30, we left for Beit Iba.17:15 Beit Iba We arrive to pick up the Machsomwatch women , but instead we’re swept up into the crazy situation we discover there . There is an enormous line of cars and trucks, none of them moving. A driver runs towards us, distressed, he speaks to N. (our driver) in Arabic and asks for our help. We promise to try. When we get nearer the checkpoint, we find our colleagues desperate, frustrated and helpless. There are over 100 people on each side of the checkpoint – entry and exit. And on the other side, 50 detainees who’ve been waiting for five hours. The checkpoint commander and some soldiers are in the middle, talking.A huge truck loaded with cattle approaches the crossing. H., the commander., signals to the truck to stop, gestures to the driver to turn around, and shouts: “Huwwara!” I ask him what this means, and he says: “I haven’t got the means to check trucks that don’t have a permit to go through this checkpoint. They can only do that at Huwwara”. Nothing can be done, and the huge truck does a 180 degree turn in a very narrow area, and drives back with its cattle to Huwwara. Next to each line, two soldiers check people slowly and thoroughly, and let them through one by one. Someone in the queue has a TV – the soldier refuses to let him go through with it, “There’s no telling what’s inside”. The Palestinians find a screwdriver and disassemble the TV. The whole line waits for the TV to be dismantled and reassembled. When all is found to be in order, the man who owns the set takes it through the checkpoint with him.It starts to get dark.The long line of cars is still stationary, and there are signs of unrest from the detainees. To our surprise, we hear the commander tell his soldiers – “Let them all go”. The soldiers look at him , uncomprehending, but he continues: “They can all go home, let them all go”. Just like that. All of a sudden. The same order is apparently given for the cars. We don’t hear it, but suddenly all the cars have gone, as if there hadn’t been a queue at all. We almost ask the commander why, but see no point in it, and we drive away.