Rihan

Rihan, Saturday, December 11, 2004, AMObservers: Yonat Y., Noah G., Eva B., Noah L. (reporting)08:30 - 11:30Sergeant T. introduces himself as the checkpoint commander at the pedestrian inspection post, explaining to us where we can stand and observe. He says he has no authority to answer any question of ours of any sort and that we are forbidden to talk to him or to his soldiers, including the military police.As a rule, the soldiers inspect swiftly and thoroughly; there are no delays and no detainees. Their demeanor, on the other hand, is rather hostile and at times even rude. If the Palestinian is submissive enough, he'll go through unharmed. If he dares to deviate, all hell will break loose. A soldiers tells a Palestinian, "Ruch, Ruch" (meaning, "Go, go away") and kicks the air as if trying to get rid of a dog.But there is an improvement: "Put your belongings on the table, including telephones, and take off the belts" (for men). Yes, today they do the inspections on a table.In the lot, there are about 7 Palestinians waiting. According to them, they have been there since 6 o'clock in the morning. They are workers with permits to cross at gate number 12, which is nearby. Today that gate is closed, and they are not allowed to cross through this gate.The District Coordination Office (DCO) representative answered our questions willingly. According to him, the ban on Arab Israelis entering the West Bank is still in effect. There is an absolute ban on workers crossing and there is even a new regulation: No passage of merchandise, not even small quantities of 5 boxes. No food, no oil, except for one box per vehicle, or one container carried by hand."Why?" we asked."They had really exaggerated, they bring in meat and other stuff""And what will they eat?""One box is sufficient for them."At the DCO someone tells us that in his opinion there are no changes in the regulations and that the battalion commander can change the instructions according to a given situation. The DCO representative at the checkpoint claims that the other guy doesn't know what he is talking about. Lieutenant A., who says he is the commander of the entire checkpoint site, reiterates that the instructions he was given are NOT to allow passage of merchandise of any kind including food, and also not to allow passage of workers.We turned to the headquarters of the brigade commander. L. answered in a most cordial manner, as she usually does, and promised to inquire. By the time she got back to us with an answer, the workers were gone; apparently gate number 12 was opened for them. L.'s answer is similar to the one we received from the DCO: On principle, there are no changes in regulations. The only person entitled to make changes based on the situation on the ground is the battalion commander.One Palestinian told a female soldier: "You can go to the shopping mall and purchase and eat whatever you feel like buying. Me, all I have here are a box of zucchini and a box of peppers to bring home as food, and even this is forbidden."Other Palestinians asked us what we know of the regulations that are changed daily, and what, according to the authorities, are they supposed to eat?And we ask: Is the battalion not subordinate to the brigade? Who decided, and why, to initiate a policy of hunger?Another example of the authority mixup: A blue (civilian) police vehicle was seen at the site, going back and forth. In one instance we saw the policeman giving a lift, in his car, to a Palestinian student who was refused passage by the soldiers. In another instance, that policeman brought an Arab Israeli back into the territories after he was refused entry back into Israel. The police officer explained the division of work between the police and the army at the checkpoint: "The soldiers decide on the regulations and impose them. For example, if there is a need to detain someone, it is our job and not theirs." And why did the above-mentioned instances occur? Who makes the decision? "Those are special cases," and he goes on and elaborates.The police officer is fluent in Arabic and we refer to him a Palestinian who wants to enter east Barta'a for half an hour to run some errands: "You have a work permit to enter Netanya for only six days a week, On Saturday no one works in Netanya, so therefore you cannot enter. Come tomorrow."As we bid him farewell, he advises us to go to Ginossar instead of the checkpoint. Why Ginossar? "It is by the Sea of Galilee; it is nice over there." (We came today in Yonat's car, which is registered as a vehicle of Ginossar, but nowhere on the car does it say that the car is from Ginossar. It seems that the eyes of the police are watching us.)A word about the upcoming elections: Whoever we asked, Palestinians, soldiers, DCO, etc. no one knew about it. The DCO representative said that whoever wishes to go somewhere should turn to the DCO and would be treated accordingly. A Palestinian working for the Italian welfare agency, whom we meet every Saturday, said that he learned from various media channels that for the elections, all checkpoints will be removed, but as we can see, they only multiply.