Beit Iba

.BEIT IBA, Tuesday 30 November 2004 PM Observers: Tami G., Ilana K., Nurit S. (reporting) Summary Polite, efficient reservists at Beit Iba created atolerable atmosphere in clearly unbearable circumstances.14:00 - Shavei Shomron Two reservists directed a long line of cars and trucksfrom both sides of the checkpoint, so that traffic moved at a reasonable pace.14:30- Beit IbaThe sight of hundreds of people at the exit from thecheckpoint raised fears that there might be delays in passage, but at the checkpoint itself movement was brisk. There were seven detainees, one of whom claimed he'd been waiting for hours. All were released quickly. [Detainees are, typically, men aged from 16 to 30 or 35 who have no passage permits; recently, young women, too, have been detained. The detainees' ID details are phoned through to the General Security Services (GSS, also known as the Shabak or the Shin Bet, the Hebrew acronym for the GSS) for checking against a central list of security suspects and the answers are then relayed back to the checkpoints. This cumbersome process can take considerable time, and that can be prolonged even more if the soldiers wait to accumulate a batch of ID cards before passing them on to the GSS , or if they behave in a similarly tardy manner at the end of the process, waiting until they have a batch of GSS clearances before they release individual detainees. Meanwhile, the detainees are virtually prisoners at the checkpoint where the soldiers retain the ID cards until the entire process is completed]. Apparently the connection between the GSS and the soldiers here was direct and uncharacteristically efficient, and ID cards were returned swiftly to the few who were waiting in the detainees’ corner.The four or five soldiers who were checking the Palestinians going through the checkpoint didn't insist on them queuing behind the turnstiles. There was only one soldier who, every once in a while, pushed the waiting people back, with calls in Arabic of "Get back there!" An Arabic-speaking soldier solved problems, and a soldier with the rank of captain handed back ID cards that had been checked with an almost unbelievable "Thank you!" (again in Arabic!)to the passing Palestinians. This was the last day on the job for this reserve unit.15:30 — We decided to join our group in Huwwara.16:00 — Huwwara presented a totally different picture: here rifles were held at the ready, the soldiers were hostile, the air was freezing. There was an unannounced checkpoint at the Yitzharjunction, which has perhaps become permanent (?).