PM

BEIT IBA, Monday 31 May 2004 PMObservers: Ruti K., Miriam L. and Rina R., (new members), Maya K. (reporting) and a guest, S., a Le Monde journalist color=red>The checkpoint, which had been very crowded on our arrival, was cleared within one to two hours.As we passed Tapuah junction, both on our way to and from Beit Iba, we noticed that it was choked with traffic : there were about 15 cars and lorries waiting there. But not once did we see an unannounced road block during the entire drive to Beit Iba, not even at the Jit junction.Shortly before our arrival at Beit Iba at 14.15, the checkpoint was reopened after a 20 to 30 minute closure imposed because of a warning of a terrorist presence in one of the Nablus area checkpoints. We found some 60 to 80 pedestrians waiting on the eastern side (the exit from Nablus). Although the soldiers checked quickly, it took about two hours to clear the waiting crowd, since newcomers arrived the whole time. There was considerable vehicular traffic on both sides. A small donkey cart which had bypassed the line of cars, was ordered to go back to its place in the vehicles' line and await its turn.There was a young man who had gone through the checkpoint earlier in the morning, without a magnetic card, after being told by O. , of the District Coordinating Office (DCO), [the section of the army that attends to civilian matters, and usually has a representative at the checkpoints ostensibly to alleviate the lot of the Palestinians], to see to it that he got the card [obtainable from the DCO and attesting to some measure of security clearance in the eyes of the Israeli authorities]. But now he was returning without the card, saying that he had had no time to get it because he had been buying clothes for his brother's wedding. It took him some time and considerable pleading, before he was let go.One of the older detainees was held up because he had no ID card. Only after waiting about 45 minutes did he show us a photocopy of his ID card with an inscription on the back, written in ink in Hebrew, saying that "the ID card of the bearer of this document was taken from him at Shavei Shomron. Please contact us." It took only a few more minutes to have him released and sent on his way. We cannot but wonder why reserve soldiers can get answers back about detainees from the General Security Services in under an hour when it takes the regular soldiers so long to do the same thing [the ID details of detainees are checked by phone against a list compiled and held by the GSS -- in Hebrew, the Shabak or Shin Bet -- the process often takes several hours].The few waiting detainees were released after periods of between a few minutes and three-quarters of an hour.