Beit Iba

Beit Iba, Tuesday, 5.7.05, PMObservers: Raheli B-A., Pithiah A., Nili H., Horit H-P. (reporting)Guest: student of Horit15:35-18:50No flying checkpoints on the way.At the Beit Iba checkpoint there is an endless line of cars, buses, trucks, vehicles trying to enter and exit from the ghetto of Nablus. In the detention shed there are 2 students who tried to get around the checkpoint. The checkpoint commander promises us that they will be released shortly. Their documents were being inspected in the bunker of the checkpoint. During a conversation with Amana, the student, Raheli found out the, during the past week, there has been an "unreasonable" delay at this checkpoint. Yesterday she had waited about 3 1/2 hours.In order to reach a course that starts at 9:00, she gets up at 5:00, crosses the Via Dolorosa of the 21st century: the Jit Junction with its "temporary" checkpoint and the taxi to the Beit Iba checkpoint. Amana finds this preferable to travelling on the bus, which takes even longer. 16:05 The detained students make their way to the end of the line at the checkpoint, according to the orders of the Israeli soldier-educator! At the same time, the bus driver complains that, during the past week, arriving for inspection and the inspection of the passengers takes about 2 1/2 hours. There is pressure at the turnstiles, chaos in the electronic functioning in the inspection lines. A doctor, with his medical certificate, is humiliated with taunts and sent to the end of the line since the line in which he had been crossing every day during the past month had been abolished. 17:06A family from Rahat is detained while leaving Nablus. A complicated story... 17:30A woman arrives who only wants to see the doctor at the Nablus hospital, but has forgotten her documents. Her begging in Hebrew in front of the checkpoint commander and the soldiers is of no use, she can't get there. She can't get through the checkpoint so she goes back from where she came. While we were leaving the territories, a military Hummer went up in flames and we can't get back. A., our driver, tries an alternative route which goes through a settlement and from there to Kibbutz Eyal. We aren't the only ones, and other cars try to return from the occupied territories this way. Unfortunately, we don't succeed. Only cars driven and occupied by settlers can pass. I ask a soldier why. He answers me that in our car there are Israeli Arabs...We returned the way we came and eventually entered the country.