Beit Iba

Beit Iba, Wednesday, 15.11.06 AMObservers: Inbal R, Rina Z (reporting) Summary: Today is Palestinian Independence Day. No studies in the universities. Few people and vehicles at the checkpoint. A soldier pointed his weapon and threatened a taxi driver who threw a tantrum at the checkpoint.The encirclement of Jenin – the city and district – continues. Ten villages north of Nablus, in the area of Asira a-Samalia, have already for a few months been under a kind of siege: entry to them is forbidden to anyone who is not a resident. Taxi drivers report that there were no soldiers today at Jit Junction. 07:50 – the checkpoint is empty. One detainee in the pen. He appears in the lists of numbers, and is released after half an hour. The encirclement of Nablus continues today: youngsters between 18 and 25 are prohibited from exit. Residents of Jenin are allowed to pass, but in any case they can’t get here because they are blocked at other checkpoints on route. The few pedestrians who arrive at the checkpoint pass quickly. The same is true of vehicles. 08:30 – two more detainees. One of them came up in the lists and is released after quarter of an hour. The second, a taxi driver, is also promised a quick release. People are talking about an army operation inside Nablus, and about arrests. A taxi driver known at the checkpoint for his strange and unpredictable behaviour throws a tantrum at the pedestrian checkpoint. We had to serve as a buffer between him and the soldier pointing his rifle and threatening to shoot at point blank range. 08:45 – a siren is heard from the watchtower, and a loudspeaker drives people back from the checkpoint. After five minutes life returns to normal. It appears that an object belonging to one of the people had aroused the suspicions of soldiers. These last two incidents indicate the considerable tension of the soldiers. We phoned M.. at the radio station in Nablus, where they know everything that’s happening at all the checkpoints, including those we can’t get to. He speaks Hebrew and is happy to give information. He said that Ein Bidan Checkpoint is open, but transit of Jenin residents under 35 is forbidden there. He related that at Asira A-Samalia (called by the army Checkpoint 408) only residents of ten villages in the area are allowed to pass. It is already six months that no one from outside the area is allowed to enter any of those villages, which include Taluza, Beit Imrin, Burqa, Kabatiye, Sebastia, Naqura, etc. Taxi drivers say that this morning there were no soldiers at Jit Junction.