Beit Iba, Sun 20.1.08, Morning

 08:25 Beit Iba.– A harsh sight of masses of young men clustered in a long line. Each and every ID is checked by at least two soldiers. Women and men over 45 pass in the humanitarian line without  check. On the other hand, the waiting time of the young men, on their way to university,is more than 30 minutes. The soldiers were nervous because of the heavy pressure, and they shouted at the people waiting. There is no justification for this humiliating attitude to a population because of insufficient manpower at the checking station...

A man aged 35-40 tried to pass in the humanitarian line, contending that he is diabetic and on the way to get treatment. They did not allow him, and even put him in the "pit": at Tami’s suggestion we called the Humanitarian Centre and asked them to ensure that a DCO representative would be on the spot. We also gave the Centre the ill man’s ID number and, after a few minutes, he was released. As for the presence of a DCO rep, we were told that he is there at the checkpoint. 09:10 – We left.