Beit Iba

Beit Iba, Monday, 23.05.05, PMObservers: Ofra B-P., Dafna S., Moor G., Yonah A. (reporting)On the way to Beit Iba the traffic was thin and we didn't see any rolling checkpoints. At Jit Junction, 2 soldiers were standing but the road was clear in every direction. Near the checkpoint, a Palestinian stopped us and told us that, during the day, a soldier went back and forth in his jeep, harassed the Palestinian young girls, causing one of them to cry. We promised to report this, and when we told the story to A. at the DCO, he explained to me that, in such cases, it is worth taking the man's details so that we could locate the same driver. We met A., who introduced himself as the checkpoint commander. Later, M., an officer, arrived.14:55 – A detainee was sent to the detention shed. After a few minutes, they checked him at the closed inspection station and released him. We got the following explanation from M: the boy was wearing 2 shirts, one on top of the other, and when he was asked to raise his shirts, he refused, because he was ashamed in front of the girls, and that is why he was detained.15:20 – M. approached us and announced that he was new at the checkpoint, but he had been told by the veteran officer that we were not allowed to stand next to the checkpoint and he asked us to move away. We stood our ground and the subject was not raised again.15:50 – A detainee was sent to the shed and released after 10 minutes. The soldiers are working quietly, speaking politely and trying to get people through quickly. On the other hand, the line of vehicles is very long and A. is busy educating the drivers. He threatens, warns, but, in the end, lets them through.17:00 – 3 young women go through the checkpoint, accompanying a boy about 3 years old. When they move away, A. calls them back and points to the boy and asks what is this: it seems that the boy is holding a toy gun. The woman doesn't understand what A. wants and her friend has to come to her help and tells him that the gun was purchased in the market. Meanwhile, the boy is quite amused and makes noise with the gun. After a few moralising remarks, A. released them on their way. The soldiers express their anxiety that such a small boy is allowed to play with a gun.17:05 – We tried to find out from one of the drivers and passengers with him, how much time they have been waiting in the traffic jam at the exit of Nablus. They both ignore the question, and us, but hurry to do whatever the soldiers tell them and move off. We did our own estimation. We marked out the last car within our line of vision, then we counted 10 cars until that car arrived for inspection. The result: 10 cars in 30 minutes. The soldiers said that the inspection was very careful today, because of serious alerts.