Beit Iba

Beit Iba Thu. 24.2.05 AMObservers: Hadassa T, Esti S. (reporting)The watch also visited Irtah and Jubara.08:00Many vehicles at the checkpoint. Passage is rapid but soldiers surround the checkpoint with cocked weapons aimed at people coming from Nablus. An officer tells us these are their orders. The soldiers arrived at the checkpoint only yesterday. They treated us well and assured us that they were responsive to problems and tried to be understanding. We encountered a problem: there are people with permits to go through Beit Iba but not Sarra. The officer dealt with the problem. A veterinary surgeon whose papers, according to the DCO, were not updated, was allowed through. We left after an hour and a half.