Beit Iba

Beit Iba, Wednesday, 23/11/05, PMObservers: Sara F., Deborah L. (reporting) Summary: There was a rolling checkpoint not far from the Jit Junction which was on route 55 in the direction of Qalqiliya .There was no rolling checkpoint at the junction of 57/60 but there was one 2 kilometers from there toward Beit Iba. They checked vehicles coming from Nablus. They were there when we came and when we left. We found this extremely irritating since people had just been checked at Beit Iba and they would be checked once again either at Anabta or Jit, depending on the direction they were travelling. At the end of our shift we happened to see the same bus at Beit Iba, then at the rolling checkpoint just after Beit Iba, and finally at Anabta . At each place they had IDs checked and had a wait of at least a half hour (see the Anabta report, as well). This means that the trip from Nablus to Anabta (that should take about 10 minutes) was close to 2 hours and by the time they were in Anabta it was dark and cold and told to stand outside the bus. The men were allowed to run off and pee (one young man said, " First they take our fields, and now they force us to use them as toilets."). I hate to think how the women had to restrain themselves since they didn't have the luxury of relieving themselves. At Beit Iba the officer and soldiers were cooperative and seemed more responsive to what was happening at the checkpoint then we've seen in previous months. This new unit that has been here 3 weeks seems to be of a different mold then the previous one. The non-humanitarian vehicle traffic leaving Nablus had a wait of about a half hour from 2:00PM until 3:15PM and there were no more then 10 vehicles on line at any one time. At about 3:15PM, however, heavy traffic began and there were over 20 vehicles on line by the time we left at 3:50PM. The traffic coming into Nablus was not heavy during the time we were there, and the longest wait was about 20 minutes. Pedestrian traffic was light the whole time. The most at any one time was about 50 pedestrians. We were told that a new way has been opened up between Nablus and Jenin. There was only one detainee who was an Israeli Arab student who had a permit. He was held up for about 5 minutes. Details: 1:15PM A rolling checkpoint near the village of Jit . Traffic going toward Qalqiliya was being checked. There were 2 vehicles on line. They checked IDs and the trunk of the car. There was a jeep and 2 soldiers. 1:30PM Junction of 60/57 – no rolling checkpoint 1:35PM – 1:52PM A rolling checkpoint about 2 minutes from the junction of 60/57 on 60 toward Beit Iba. They were checking traffic from Nablus only. Eleven vehicles were waiting on line. IDs and bags were checked. When we asked why they were checking here when only 2 minutes ago the people had been checked at Beit Iba, the response was as follows: "How are we supposed to know they were just checked at Beit Iba?" "Where is Beit Iba?" "If they told us to check them, there must be a reason." And yes, according to D. from the DCO, whom we of MW were asked to call should we have a problem, there is a reason: "This rolling checkpoint is a 'fish net'". We were told that there has been an alert that a potential suicide bomber is going to be coming out of Nablus. One of the problems was that when they took some young men out of taxis to call in their IDs, the taxis did not wait and so when the "okay" came back, the men were stranded. We saw 5 men in this situation. By the time we headed for Beit Iba, 3 had found rides. 2:00PM - 3:45PM Beit IbaVery few pedestrians. Two soldiers checking IDs in the booth. Separate lines for men and women. Women and parcels checked in the area slightly north of the checking booths. The soldiers cordial and are willing to talk to us, ask if we have any questions or problems, and ask what we write in our notebooks. The DCO Representative, H. is there. The officer of the checkpoint is E. The traffic leaving Nablus is concentrated in one line. At first it took less then a half hour for the last vehicle to get to the front of the line ( 2:36PM – 2:50PM , 2:53PM – 3:26PM). All vehicles that are on line, wait at the far end of the checkpoint toward Nablus. A soldier stands at that far point in order to check the credibility of those claiming to be humanitarian vehicles, to prevent the taxis from blocking the traffic, and to take care of any other problems that might come up in that area. There is a Zelda parked near him. At the checking booth, there are 2 soldiers checking the incoming traffic and two the outgoing traffic. When a bus arrives from Nablus, the incoming traffic waits because a soldier from that line comes to help with the bus. This doesn't cause too much of a problem since the line of incoming traffic is rather short. Buses leaving Nablus took about 5 minutes to check once they got to the checking booth. (examples: 2:10PM – 2:12PM, 2:17PM – 2:24PM,2:40PM – 2:44PM, 2:53PM – 2:57PM.) The checking was done while the people remained on the bus. The vehicle traffic entering Nablus was not heavy. There were no more then 8 or 9 cars on line at any one time and they took about 10 minutes to get to the front of the line (2:00PM – 2:13PM, 2:21PM – 2:31PM). At times there was no traffic at all to Nablus. When this was the case, the soldiers who had been checking them, helped the traffic leaving Nablus. Between 2:05PM and 3:40PM 26 humanitarian vehicles left Nablus, and 38 regular vehicles (which included trucks, buses, minibuses, and a small amount of taxis or cars). This is a big percentage of humanitarian vehicles. As I've noted in other reports, the humanitarian vehicles take precedent and thus the line of "normal" vehicles is constantly being held back. 3:00PM A truck driver asks me , "When will it end? I have a furniture store 50 meters from here in Nablus. I have to wait on line with the furniture, go through the checkpoint, meet another truck on the other side and transfer the furniture to him. This always takes so much time." 3:10PM No traffic going into Nablus. 3:13PM Another Zelda arrives and parks near the first one at the end of the checkpoint closest to Nablus. There is a changing of the soldiers. Traffic from both directions stops for about 5 minutes (until 3:17PM). 3:25PM Traffic leaving Nablus starts to build up and we ask if another soldier can help check the vehicles. The officer complies. About 50 pedestrians on line. An Israeli Arab student is detained for about 5 minutes. 3:38PM Officer E. leaves and a new Officer I.(I'tem) comes on duty. 3:42PM The Zelda leaves and traffic stops for another 5 minutes. More than 20 vehicles that I can see waiting to leave Nablus. I speak to D. from the DCO to ask if he can do something to help with the traffic here. The DCO Rep. meanders over to help. One of the Palestinians who has a donkey and wagon asks when they are going to open the checkpoint at Shavei Shomron. He says it is so difficult for him to go through the hills with the wagon and the army keeps blocking new ways the pedestrians try to take. Sometimes his wagon slides down as he tries to make it up one of the make shift paths . 3:56PM We leave. 4:03PM Rolling checkpoint 2 minutes from Beit Iba. There are 15 vehicles on line that take about 5 minutes to pass through. A bus is off to the side. A crowd of young men are waiting outside the bus for 5 of their friends who are being detained. They have been waiting about 15 minutes. We speak to the soldiers in the jeep. They are just now calling up the IDs. Before that, they couldn't get a phone line. We tell them how we had just seen the bus at Beit Iba. I had seen it leave around 3:45PM. 4:14PM We call T. at the Army Humanitarian Line to complain. She tells us to get the names of the men. 4:23PM The soldiers give them back the IDs. They get on the bus and leave. 4:31PM Anabta – we meet the bus again there where it is once again stopped. See separate report on Anabta.