Huwwara & vicinity

Huwwara Za'atara Beit Furik Awarta, ThursPM 11/01/07Observers: Hagar L. Deborah L. (reporting)RESTRICTIONS: no group restrictions today, except for Beit Furik and the Jorden Valley area.SUMMARY: Vehicles carrying passengers to the Al Fatach demonstration in Ramallah were given a special permit for the day. A soldier at Zaatara told us the soldiers had been instructed to let them pass through quickly. A mini bus driver from Farrah who had never been given a permit for his vehicle to get inside of Nablus, told us that he had been given one today for the purpose of going to the demonstration.The Battalion commander, D., told the commanding officer at Beit Furik that if we didn't stand at the most eastern end of the checkpoint (far away from the sight of the checking booths, the line of pedestrians and vehicles from Nablus), he was to stop all checking at the CP.We were told by Palestinians at the Awarta CP that in a few weeks, Israeli trucks that want to deliver merchandise back to back to Nablus will have to go to Irtach to make the transfer. Those truck drivers who have permits to go in and out of Nablus will go to Irtach by way of Sara (Route 55). From there they will get to the Jit junction, turn west to Anabta, and from there to Irtach. Truck drivers who do not have a permit to go into Nablus will continue to go to Awarte. It was our impression that there is going to be a big change in transferring goods in the Samaria area, a change that may affect people's employment. However, none of the relevant people such as the merchants, truck owners and drivers, and people at the wholesale market has been given accurate information. It seems as though people are just guessing as to what will really occur. DETAILS:12:47 We pass by the industrial area of Ariel and the entrance to the village of Brukeen is still open with the mounds of rocks and dirt pushed to the side. We were told by Zakariah that part of Mardah's olive groves are cut off by the new fence around Ariel and they can not get to their land. We saw what he was referring to as we passed by Mardah.13:10 Zaatara Very little traffic. We had expected to see an endless line of buses heading for the Al Fatach demonstration in Ramallah. A soldier tells us there were about 50 buses but they passed through around 10AM. He claims that they were given instructions to let them pass through quickly if they had the correct permit. We verified this with Shalvah who was there in the morning shift and she said things went smoothly. 13:21 Bata, wholesale market. We are told by a few people who were standing around that everything is okay today. But they worried about the changes at the Awarta back-to-back CP. They heard about the change and thought the CO is going to be shut down completely. Apparently they have not been given formal information from the Israeli DCO.13:29 Yitzar/Borin not manned (also not manned when we passed through at 16:20)Huwwara 13:34 – 14:09 and 16:06 – 16:20 The commander of the CP did not want to talk to us.Vehicle summarySix cars on line to Nablus when we get there. At first they are not being checked but a few minutes after we arrive, two soldiers (including the commander of the CP) come to check them and for the rest of the time this post is manned. The checking takes about a minute per vehicle. (Eight vehicles on line at 13:34 have all passed through by 13:43. Eight vehicles on line at16:06 all pass through by 16:19)There is a line of cars from Nablus that we can't see. We get the impression there are about 7 cars. Taxis took about 5 minutes to be checked and other vehicles about one or two minutes a piece.The x-ray machine is in place but isn't working. Parcels are checked on the ground.Pedestrian Summary Two pedestrian lines for young men. About 25 people on each of these 2 lines. The line on the east side had people passing through at the average rate of one per minute. A man who was number 20 on this side passed through 18 minutes later. One man who had a small piece of luggage was asked to take his luggage and go over to the x-ray machine. He had to jump over the blockades in order to get there. Because the machine wasn't working, a soldier at the vehicle checking booth examined the contents of this man's luggage on the ground. The man had to then jump over the blockades once again in order to return to the original line to pick up his ID. In another incident a man in his 40's came through the unlocked turnstile to be checked (when the turnstile is unlocked this is usually a sign that the next person can go through). The man before him had already been checked and had left the area. As he approached the soldier, the soldier said, "Did some one call you? Go back!" The man moved back toward the turnstile and stood to the side as the soldier motioned to the next person in line to come through the turnstile. Only after he checked this second person did the soldier allow the first man to come to the checking booth. The line on the west side was slower. We saw one man who was kept for 6 minutes at the checking booth on this side. Every single knotted plastic bag was untied and examined.There was a humanitarian line and there was a constant flow of older people, women and children. No detainees during our shift. There were always a number of women waiting for their husbands who were still waiting on the lines behind the turnstiles. A young man showed Hagar an order he had received to come for a secret service investigation. He was told to meet Captain S. in Hawware at 14:00. The commander of the CP had told him to wait on the side. Hagar has his phone number. We don't know yet what his fate was. Beit Furik ( 14:24 – 15:17)Almost no pedestrian traffic in either direction. The vehicle traffic was checked one side at a time. Sometimes a single car coming from Beit Furik would wait 15 minutes before being told to move forward. There were a number of short breaks where no checking was done at all. We found it annoying that soldiers from the pedestrian checking area could not come and help out when there was no pedestrians on line. There were 10 vehicles on line from Nablus. The 10th vehicle went through the CP as we were leaving. The commander of the CP got a call from the Battalion commander, Dahn, and was told that if we didn't stay behind the set of turnstiles that are used by the people coming from Beit Furik, he should stop checking the Palestinians. A taxi driver approached us in the parking area, telling a story about a young man from the village that is getting married and wants his bride from Sakanne (an eastern suburb of Nablus) to come and see the house she is going to live in after the wedding. She was refused because she does not have in Beit-Furik on her ID. Awarta 15:23 – 16:05 No lines. A few vehicles coming through from each direction.We are told by the workers here about changes that would occur in a few weeks. See above in summary.A number of workers approached us for help. One has been prevented from renewing his magnetic card. One has not been able to renew the permit for his truck. Hagar told these two men what papers they have to fax to Sylvia. One worker who works the jack lift for transferring merchandise from one truck to another, told us that at the end of the day on one Friday two weeks ago, he had wanted to pick up his ID from the box near the checking booth (the workers must put their IDs here everyday when they come to work) but the soldier told him to first put his machinery away and then come back to get it. When he came back the soldiers had already left and there was no ID. The following Sunday when none of the soldiers knew anything about his ID, he was able to get a piece of paper to replace the ID. Today when he showed the paper to the commanding officer in order to request that the commander help him get his original ID back, the soldier took the paper in order to bring it to the base not realizing that the man can't go anywhere or do anything without some kind of identification. Hagar spoke to the commander. One man wanted to know how he could get help from doctors in Israel for his daughter. I suggested he get in touch with Zachareah from Physicians for Human Rights.16:36 Sara We went up the road from Jit junction in the direction of Sara in search of some sign of the new way that was going to be open for trucks coming from Nablus. We didn't see anything in particular. We wondered how trucks were going to drive along this road which was filled with pot holes.16:39 Jit – none of the 3 booths were manned.17:07 Checkpoint into Israel near Qalqilyia. The line that is meant for settlers is marked NO ENTRY.