Huwwara

Huwwara, Sunday 12.2.06, PMObservers: Noa P., Judit B., Neta G and Leah G. (Our friends from MW North),a guest from Germany, Galit G. and Naomi L. (reporting)Cp commander – O.13:00 – we drove by way of Nabeel Yasi and Azun after hearing on the news about the poison graffiti on the mosque wall and riots in the villages. We saw the washed wall with traces of the red paint of the lettering, that was indeed wiped off but will stay there forever. At the entry to Azun 8 jeeps and Humvees and a bunch of officers and soldiers keep Palestinians from reaching the main road that serves the settlers. The entry road to the village is full of rocks and stones and burning tires, within the village explosions and cracks of gas and concussion grenades are heard as well as automatic shooting. An army jeep speeds to the junction, unloading a 16-17 year old boy, the soldier hurry to restrain him and put him back in the jeep. A lieutenant-colonel looks at us and says "no one touch him!" and the boy shouts in Arabic that he wants to go home.15:30 – At Jit Junction 18 vehicles wait their turn while the settler masters of the land effortlessly hurry by.15:40 – Roadblock at Yitzhar-Huwara junction stops cars that have just waited and been checked at Huwara CP a minute and a half ago.Huwwara – Next to the settlers' hitchhikers' post, a Border Patrol jeep observing the taxi park but not hassling people. One of the soldiers greets us.15:48 – at the turnstiles, over 100 people waiting, only one active ID checking post.2 soldiers on duty there. People very slowly trickling out.At the detainee pen, a detainee who claims to be waiting for 3 hours. He lives in Taluza and work in Ramallah, an impossible combination in view of the current ban on movement. Half a minute after we arrived, lieutenant Eli approaches tries to shoo us away from our observation point of the crowded young men's line, designating an imaginary line between us and the turnstiles. We ask him to take care of the long line and the detainee who has been sitting in the pen for 3 hours. This officer does not address us again until the end of our vigil, although the police comes by later to "put us in our place".We called the "humanitarian" army hotline and reported the crowded lines, the lack of ID checking posts and our being harassed. Towards the end of our shift, we were told that "you are being distanced from places where you are not supposed to be". This is the Brigade's response to our complaint.16:00 – a checking post is added, the body searches of men is performed by a girl-soldier who is constantly busy talking on her walkie-talkie ("What's up, Ronit?") and halting the checks.A woman, just after an operation on her leg, reaches the CP in a cab and asks to be let into Nablus. The soldier orders her to walk to the cabs on the other side and she begins to limp over the distance. We approached Rafael who took the trouble to summon a cab so as to lessen her ordeal. All the while not speaking to us, maintaining the current soldiers' pact of silence.Public transport passengers are being hassled: Everyone, including women and small children are made to disembark and stand in a line on the side, their IDs collected, checked against name lists, and only then are they permitted to proceed.16:30 – over 200 people in the waiting lines, checking slows down to a snail's pace. The soldiers check every seam, open even thumbtack packets.Women passing the side line are told to open their packages on the ground.The boy who had been detained and released 15 minutes ago has been turned back to Nablus when he got to Za'atra-Tapuach Junction.A vehicle of the "Al Ayaam" newspaper has been waiting since 13:00 to deliver papers to Ramallah. They have not been allowed to exit Nablus and have been waiting for a car from Ramallah to pick up the newspapers back-to-back style, under the watchful eyes of R.A father looks for his 14-year old son, a student at a special education school. Omer, CP commander, orders him back to Nablus. After our interference the father was allowed to look for his son and found him standing far away from the CP.17:00 – in the vehicle waiting line, a surgeon in his private car, in a hurry to get to an operation. His car is checked with the dog, all passengers ordered out and told to stand with their back to the car. They have been waiting 3 hours in line and now – the dog. 3 of the passengers refuse to re-enter the car after this check and prefer to proceed on foot. The surgeon wipes the car seats with paper tissues.The DCO representative arrives and takes care of the 3 men refused by the girl-soldier to exit Nablus in their vehicle. A nice, apparently bored policeman calls out to us "girll!", inquiring to know who our commander is and telling us to stand only where we're allowed – behind the ID checking posts. About the poison-graffiti on the mosque wall he comments that "this is an intelligence matter, not ours".We go back to our usual observation points. 2 young men tell us: "This is impossibhle, this is really bad. I have 3 little children at home and there is no work to be found in the territories at all." Another says, "Eventually things come around, how long can we go on like this?"17:30 – the vehicle checks are slow and exhausting. The dog checks long and humiliating. Two MPwomen are especially course, contemptuous and overbearing, punishing and scolding while checking, the Palestinians report their especially nasty and demeaning punishments (these are Ilana and Ronit).The soldiers' shouts "I'm through arguing with you!!" it is barely possible to know what the hubbub is about. A vehicle with a man, a woman and 2 little children is ordered back. At least 6 soldiers hang out around the vehicle check post but only 2 actively involved in the inspections. At some point they realize 6 soldiers might check 3 cars simultaneously, but only there's a good cause: "Okay, let's finish this line and get the hell out of here!"17:50 – a young truck driver falls victim to Ronit, the MPwoman. From her denigrating tone obviously he hasn't a chance. The guy claims to be from Ramallah but the soldiers send him to Awarta. He can't get through. The truck is empty. Never mind. Simultaneously, another 2 vehicles are sent back.18:25 – "life halt" is announced. A vehicle already being inspected is sent back. The passengers' IDs stay in the soldier's hand. Entry into Nablus as well is forbidden. An ambulance is refused inspection. A man, woman and 3 small children insist on crossing. Omer catches up with them and sends them back. At the entry point about 50 people congregate, and other people keep arriving.18:25 – the army hotline gets back to us with the following answers:- "true, only one line is open but there also a 'humanitarian line' (one line for 200 people??)- about your observation points: "you were distanced from the points that are out of bounds for you". 18:30 – during the "life halt", the ambulance is allowed to proceed. Rumors spread about a shooting incident around Huwara. Later we learned that the shooting was in Beta and "life halt" was also declared at Zaatra Junction.18:40 – "life halt" lifted, everyone passes. In the meantime about 100 people have gathered to enter Nablus. The ambulance was inspected for over 10 minutes.18:45 – we left for Zaatra Junction.At Yitzhar junction, a roadblock again.Zaatra-Tapuach Junction:19:00 – "life halt" procedure parallels the one at Huwara since 18:25. All traffic in all directions is halted, including Israeli vehicles. After a while, Israelis begin to cross (moving the plastic barriers with their cars), the soldiers standing by helplessly. The Palestinians did not dare move. Some come to complain about ill people, children, disabled, doctors in their cars. All vehicles going south from Huwara (the incident was in Beta) are prevented passage. The CP commander directs things quietly, with no undue hostility. Palestinian ambulances and medical staff cars are allowed through after checking their IDs. A Palestinian cab driver says his car was stoned near Eli today, points out the damage to the car, and says that still none of the traffic there was stopped. Most Palestinians just waiting quietly, some exit their cars and the commander asks them to get back in, to avoid "a mess". Obviously the soldiers are very tense.We called journalist Amira Hass and the Regional Commander's Spokesman, and both, after looking into things, told us the army said the incident was over and the CP open to traffic. We waited another 15 minutes until the order came through… Israeli vehicles left immediately and the Palestinians, one by one, 2 checkingposts for vehicles going south from Nablus, one post for vehicles coming on road no. 5 from the west.20:10 – we left.Beit Furiq -Observers: Noa P., Leah G. and Neta G. (MW north), guest from Germany,and Naomi L. (reporting)17:40 – the CP looks deserted. Few vehicles and pedestrians. G., Brigade spokesman says that prevention of movement for men between the ages of 15 and 30 has been "lifted in the late afternoon". When we call this "collective punishment" he says, "You'll go on calling this collective punishment and we'll call this vital security measures". The CP closing time is not clear to the soldiers, G. says people can go out until 8 p,.m. but the soldiers don't look convinced.A lieutenant who introduces himself as Sherif scolds us and tries to shoo us away, claiming "this is a military area". We passed on to the morning shift information about lifting the movement prevention of 15-30 year olds in order to verify whether this has also come to the Cp soldiers' notice. Until next time…