Huwwara South

HUWARRA SOUTH, Wednesday 1 December 2004 PM Observers: Elat, Nurit and L. (reporting) colour=red>13:15 – The checkpoint was quiet, traffic was sparse and the detainee area was empty. The checkpoint commander and some of the soldiers were here last Wednesday at the same time (till 14:00) and, as they had done then, they greeted us pleasantly. We noted their polite and respectful behaviour last week.13:30 – There were two detainees.[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]. Beside the checkpoint we could still see the remains of metal fencing that had been placed around the detainees' area, turning it into something that looked like a cage. After Machsomwatch members' protests, the fencing had been removed; now its debris was a dangerous obstacle for those passing from north to south. We tried to move it out of the way, but with only partial success. This material should be moved immediately.14:00 – The soldiers manning the checkpoint were finishing their shift and others were taking their place. Like last week, the pressure increased, although it must be said that the checkpoint commander was somewhat more approachable. 14:45 – One of the detainees had a medical referral. After some time had passed with no progress, we called the army's "humanitarian" hotline and also Dalia Bassa [the official coordinating medical services in the Occupied Territories]. The man was eventually released on the direct orders of the hotline to the checkpoint staff. 15:15 – Five detainees were waiting for the results of the GSS check and by 15:30, three more had joined them.Two children with no ID cards, and without their parents, tried to go through and were returned. A boy carrying his birth certificate which showed that he was under 16 ( and therefore had no ID card of his own ) was also sent back as he, too, was unaccompanied. [Unaccompanied children have been refused passage now for a few months.] Traffic at the checkpoint was still sparse, especially in the women's queue.15:45 — Two holders of Israeli ID cards were refused passage. One was a fifth-year engineering student. To the best of our knowledge, Arab-Israeli students are permitted to study in Nablus, but we have witnessed some lack of clarity on this point. This young woman claimed that this was the first time she'd not been allowed through. When the DCO checked, her name did not appear on the lists of students and she was not able to enter Nablus. She was told she would have to apply for a new permit from the army's Central Command. We explained that we were powerless to change this; gave her the telephone number and address of Central Command and offered her a lift back to Tira [in Israel]; but she refused, saying she had to reach Nablus because of examinations. We felt very frustrated as we faced yet another example of how people's freedom of movement continues to be taken away from them.16:20 – We left the checkpoint and went on our way.