'Azzun 'Atma, Habla, Huwwara, Tue 18.12.12, Afternoon
13:50 The Habla gate was empty. It closes at 14:00. A sign posted on the gate tells when it’s open. It still closes at 17:30 in the evening.
14:50 Yitzhar/Huwwara junction. A flying checkpoint, a few soldiers standing up on the hill. We drove to the Huwwara checkpoint. It was manned; inspections were being conducted. A Palestinian vehicle was detained and its three passengers were made to get out and sit near the concrete blocks. We went over to see what was going on. The checkpoint commander approached us, said that the checkpoint is manned three times a day. He told us there was an order to detain the passengers in the car that was stopped; they’re suspected of throwing rocks. He added that there was a confrontation this morning between settlers and residents of Einabus.
15:05 We drove via Burin to the village of Madama, south of Burin, because I’d read in Al Itihad that there had been trouble with the settlers. An eyewitness told us that on Monday, 17.12, at nine in the morning, when a Palestinian family was on the way to plant trees on its land, settlers from Yitzhar came down, shot and wounded a brother and sister, and hit the two other brothers in the head with rocks. Soldiers arrived, beat the 65 year old brother with their rifle butts and arrested three other people. The settlers also beat and chased away the Palestinian shepherds who were there. The confrontations continued into the afternoon.
The Palestinians arrested are: Fawzi Zakariyya, Ramz Wissam, Mu’az Rizk. Mamun Amin was the eyewitness.
16:00 A flying checkpoint at the entrance to Beita.
Za’atara is manned, but no inspections are conducted.
16:25 Azzun Atma. Inspections are conducted for groups of five so the crossing flowed and there was no congestion.
16:35 We left.