Za’atra, Huwwara, Beit Furiq 25 January 2006 a.m.Watchers: Tushka K., Chana A. (reporting)General: The elections are going full swing in the villages and towns, the regular harassments at the roadblocks, the damage to freedom of movement on the roads and in the villages, the recognition by the army of the harm that may be caused as a result of the limitation of freedom of movement of foreign observers, the understanding by the foreign observers at the roadblock that it’s all just a sham.Tapuach – Za’atra7:55 a.mThere are no (!) vehicles from the west at all. Indeed, the roadblock commander confirms that residents of Jenin and Tulkarm are ‘separated’.8:00 a.m. A heavier flow of vehicles starts from the north. Cars cross quickly.By the way, the road sign with the flower, which is still standing, is covered with graffiti: “Go in Peace and Welcome Back” just like Ben Gurion Airport.At the Yitzhar junction an army vehicle is parked in the direction of Huwwara but at the moment is not stopping vehicles.Huwwara8:15 a.m. Comparatively, very few people are going to and fro at this time of the morning (compared to previous morning shifts). There is just one checkpoint for both goods and personal checks and the same is true for I.D. checks.There is a queue of about five cars at the checkpoint for exiting cars. Some of them carry election signs. The checks are carried out as usual (goods are taken out, documents are checked, etc.). Later the x-ray machine will arrive and thus 2 bus passengers whose bags contain packs of blankets are forced to take them off and send them to be checked at the x-ray machine.The roadblock has reinforcements of soldiers, many more than we are used to seeing. At one point the roadblock even has two commanders, M., and A. . Apart from H., the DCO representative whom we know, there is another officer at the checkpoint for cars entering Nablus. He has a sheet of paper on which are copies of the signs used by the observers’ organisations plus orders on how to behave towards the observers. The order concerning the danger to image in the case of harming the observers’ freedom of passage is written in bright red.An observer from a Dutch organisation who came to collect someone tells us that in Tulkarm there were difficulties, observers from an Italian group arriving from the direction of Nablus also don’t accept the improvement which Israel has announced regarding the elections and ecumenical observers don’t miss a detail of what is going on at the roadblock.Cars bearing Israeli number plates, journalists (Nachum Barnea from ‘Yediot Aharonot’ for example) and others enter and leave easily and do not have to use the normal lanes, at least at the beginning of the shift. For example, small groups of foreign passport holders go through the car check point and not through the turnstiles.However, the damage to their image by limiting the freedom of movement of Palestions and the harm to their livliehoods do not seem to bother those who set policies and certainly do not bother the soldiers staffing the roadblock. In this case the beaurocracy, the indifference, the vexation and shouts for no reason continue.During the shift from time to time young men serving as policemen in the Palestinian Police arrive wanting to go to Ramallah, for instance, to carry out whatever task they have been given. They don’t have crossing permits and they are sent back to Nablus and asked to bring the necessary permits. H., the DCO representative, deals with the matter and when they return they are allowed through.At about 9:00 a.m.On the entrance road a little bit past the roadblock, there is a discussion between M., the commander and a young man. It must be noted that the young man was not the only one standing there. Meanwhile the young man is brought (not by physical force but by evident authority – the soldier grasping his arm) to the exiting car checkpoint. He is inspected on the road. M’s hand goes into his pocket and his ID card is confiscated and he is sent to the detention point. It turns out that he is a taxi driver and M., accuses him of causing a disturbance. M., ‘disappears’ and only when A., arrives about an hour later is his ID returned and he is released.Meanwhile a soldier now and then asks those crossing how they are voting.9:45 a.m.A family, accompanied by a Hebrew speaking man, arrives: a mother and five children, one of them a baby whom she holds in her arms, are offensively sent to the detention point. The man objects and ‘luckily’ the gate to the point does not open but maybe it’s not luck because at least then they would have had somewhere to sit while they wait. The mother was born in Nablus, something in the family’s history is connected to Gaza (we didn’t understand exactly what), they live in Bidia. the baby in her arms has a heart complaint and she brings him once a week to the hospital in Nablus. Now they are not allowed to leave, since the details in the ID card are not compatible with other details.They all stood at least for an hour (the baby in its mother’s arms), the temperature started to drop and it was freezing, a soldier goes backwards and forwards with the mother’s document and until finally she sends her on her way.Israeli policemen appear to have too much time on their hands and not enough problems to deal with in the settlements, not to mention the villages west of the Green Line. The phenomenon of a blue policeman checking those entering Nablus is turning into a permanent one. The policeman, who bears no identifying mark (and not for the first time) is already at home at the roadblock.Today, not only does he go to the army computers and check details of those entering, he also rummages through the belongings of those leaving Nablus, checks their ID cards, goes over to vehicle owners and asks (in Arabic it must be noted) where their cars are from (trying to find out if they are stolen). We did not see him catch an offender, but he is in no hurry to release his victims. He wanders around with the documents as if he is weighing up the possibilities, and only then does he return them.We approach H., from the DCO, about the policeman’s activities and he said he would deal with it, but when we left Huwwara at about 11:30 a.m., there was no change and when we returned at about 12:15 p.m., he was still there (Dafna and Dalia also ‘won’ his attention).Beit Furiq11:45 a.m., approximatelyThe roadblock is more or less empty both of people and cars. We went into the village. In the village the elections are in full swing. The roads leading to the voting stations are full of men and women, of all ages, carrying signs, wrapped in bandanas, kefiyas, ribbons, scarves – everything one can imagine to show political affiliation. We must say we were welcomed with joy and great respect. We were even allowed to enter, and photograph, the voting station.On our return to the car a young man came over to us with a request for help. A relative has been in an Israeli jail for 14 years. Only his wife is allowed visiting rights and his 80+ mother is denied. We put him in touch with Chava Halevi.12:40 p.m.The army vehicle at Yitzhar Junction has put out a roadblock and there are about 10 cars queuing.Further on, in the middle of Yitzhar Way, above Asira-a-Kabila there is another roadblock and at Jit Junction there are about 25 (!) cars standing at another roadblock. The way to independence and freedom is indeed long.