'Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za'tara (Tapuah), Thu 30.4.09, Afternoon
Natanya translating.
12.55 Marda. Two gates
are open. Zeita. The entrance is closed.
13.00 Za'tara.
Nothing from the West and one checking area. From the north (Nablus, Huwwara) 13 cars waiting to be checked.
13.10 Awarta. 3 cars waiting to be checked.
13.20 Beit Furik.
Soldiers man the checkpoint and cars pass with a random check. On the cement block the sign where we are to stand has been erased and now there is a slogan...N-Na.Naham and so on with which the settlers have been allowed to decorate the sign. We were not told as in previous days that we could not stand nearby. Another surprise was that a sign showing the direction of Beit Furik and Beit Dagan are written in Hebrew, English and Arabic. A photo is attached.
13.30 Huwwara.
We cannot see if anyone is detained. We did not meet anyone from the DCO. After 20 minutes a detainee came out of the isolation. He said that his ID had been taken from him and he had been put in the isolation because a soldier thought he had tried to be clever. He said not. He said that he was in his last year at the university in Nablus and was a volunteer in Unicef...he told children stories.
The checking in the line of the young men. They go to the x-ray, are used to taking off their belts because of the buckle, get to the blocked window and put their ID in the slot. If they have parcels they take everything out so that the soldier can see. After that they bend down as if they are bowing and take their ID out of the slot.
16 minutes in line, 3 lines, about 25 people wait in the shed. No pressure in the side line. The soldiers scream their orders into the loudspeaker in Arabic.
The car lane. No line at the entrance to Nablus. At the exit we could count 13 cars in two checking lanes, There is an x-ray machine for parcels. We did not see the dogtrainer or the dog.
We met A. the representative of Bestelem. We were told yesterday, Yom Ha'atzmaut that settlers from Bracha had thrown stones at the Palestinians at the checkpoint.
15.10 A border patrol jeep in the parking lot at the entrance to Beita.
15.15 Awarta.
16 cars wait at one checking area and one taxi was detained. While we werewalking toward the taxi the driver got his ID back. They had been delayed for 15 minutes maybe because of the checking of the passports of passengers. A soldier is doing exercise nearby. A photo attached.
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