PM Beit Iba

BEIT IBA, Monday 10 May 2004 PM Observers: Ruti K., Noya A., Maya K. (reporting) color=red>In brief: This was a routine checkpoint watch without any exceptional events.We drove through the Tapuah junction, where about 20-30 cars were being checked or waiting in line. At the Jit junction, there was one bus waiting for a check.Beit IbaThere was neither closure nor encirclement in force and much quite rapid toing and froing of pedestrians mainly from Nablus. Vehicular traffic too was lively and included several ambulances , which also went through rapidly.All the time we were there, there were about 15-20 detainees -- one group succeeding another, apart from one detainee with a donkey who was still being held after we left because the answer to his check had been delayed at the General Security Services [AKA the Shabak -- a Hebrew acronym-- or the Shin Bet, the Hebrew initials of the GSS. Detainees' ID card details are sent for cross-checking against a central list compiled and held by the GSS; clearance can quite often take several hours]. All the detainees were between 16 and 35 [this is the "suspect" age for Palestinian males who experience great difficulty in moving from place to place even within the Palestinian Authority, and even if they have one of the much coveted permits]. Among them was a diabetic from Furadis near Zikhron Yaakov in northern Israel, returning from a visit to his mother, a cancer sufferer, in Nablus. (He had documents confirming her illness). His release was delayed because, according to the soldiers, the police must be summoned when the holder of an Israeli ID card enters Nablus. The man told us he gone into Nablus through the Beit Iba checkpoint on Friday, when he had not been asked for documents. In the end, he was released by S.We met a man whose ID card had been taken away, he told us , six months ago, by a soldier in an army jeep, while he himself was driving his tractor. He has been looking for it ever since: he's been to Shavei Shomron [police station]about 20 times and also to Homesh. He tried to go through to Nablus today, equipped with a document from the Palestinian Authority and a photocopy of his ID card . The photocopy was taken by the soldiers and mislaid. The soldiers say there never was a photocopy. Ruti telephoned everyone possible to try and solve the problem. How can he get a document in Nablus when he doesn’t have a document or a permit to enter the city? The telephone calls didn't help. N. came to the rescue, when he arrived -- late -- at the checkpoint, and gave the man a letter allowing him to come back tomorrow and go through the checkpoint. We have his telephone number and will stay in touch with him.Final comment: the woman soldier at the concrete barriers, who is well-known to us, has a sticker on her helmet: “Yes to peace, no to Arabs.” Is political propaganda permitted in the army?