Beit Iba

Beit Iba, Thursday, 24.8.06 AMObservers: Keren A, Dalia V, Nurit VL (reporting) Summary: “Cessation of life” at Beit Iba, huge traffic jam at rolling checkpoint at Deir Sharaf. 07:20 – Jit Junction empty. 07:30 --Rolling Checkpoint at Deir SharafAt an unexpected place, at the junction, a few hundred meters from the checkpoint, a crowded line of (more than 60) vehicles, which only gets longer, from the east (Nablus), and this is after already being checked at Beit Iba. Facing them a rolling checkpoint supported by an armored vehicle. One soldier observing from the turret, two more at its foot checking with agonising slowness. According to them, they were summoned here at 05:00. Angry voices and car horns can be heard down the line, which includes trucks and commercial vehicles on their way to the work day. We won’t report the shouts aimed at us. Apparently Beit Iba opened in the morning, but was immediately closed because of a hot warning, and stayed closed for two hours. Just now it was reopened and the drivers are compelled to stand again in a traffic jam at a zero distance from the checkpoint. The situation is both explosive and insufferable. We are asked to move away from the inspection area. It is dangerous to stand there or to travel in the direction of the checkpoint, because an occasional vehicle nervously crosses the opposite lane. We are almost crushed by a truck. We retreat to a place beyond the line of vehicles, but within moments the line reaches down to us. We phone first of all to the Humanitarian Centre with an urgent request to deal with the situation, and to send reinforcements. When there seems to be no chance of change, we phone Naomi and Chana, who contact brigade. As we leave the checkpoint to go to Anabta, there are “only” 20-30 vehicles. We wait a while longer. The number of soldiers does not increase, but the inspection is now brisker. 08:15 – Beit Iba CheckpointCrowded lines of vehicles in both (actually three) directions, and clouds of dust hampering vision and breathing. A larger force of soldiers in place, headed by G, the company commander, who is supervising the soldiers at the end of “Cessation of Life.” (Pity that such a functionary is not present most of the time, because this morning’s soldiers are restrained and polite and are working seriously and efficiently.) Dalia asks A, the checkpoint commander, to reinforce the vehicle lanes in order to eliminate the jams. He does so immediately and another checking station opens for vehicles. In a short time improvement is noticeable. At the pedestrian checkpoint, 16-30 year olds are prohibited. Brisk traffic to Nablus, few coming out. This morning’s pressure has already let up. There are four detainees in the compound. They arrived early but, when they discerned “cessation of life”, they tried to bypass. Two of them are obviously older than the prohibited age. Keren takes details from them without interference. We approach the company commander and explain that these are working people who are losing a day’s income, and there is no real necessity to play out the punishment to the bitter end of four hours if there is nothing suspicious about a detainee. The company commander immediately releases two of them (in the light of the company commander’s action, the checkpoint commander promises to release the others within an hour – as opposed to his obstinacy last Thursday). 08:30 – we most of the time also observe the vehicle lanes. The inspection time for a bus coming out of Nablus, with four cars ahead of it, is a quarter of an hour. 08:50 – the line of vehicles pointed towards Nablus has thinned down. Waiting time outbound is relatively short. At the pedestrian checkpoint – empty outbound, reasonable and unpressured inbound. 09:00 – we leave in the direction of Anabta. At Deir Sharaf the rolling checkpoint is still functioning.