Qalqiliya

Place:

Habla

Beit Iba

Observers:

Nati A.,Tal S.,Sharon Sh.,Rina Ts.

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Jun-13-2007

Morning

Qalqiliya, Wednesday June 13, 2007, a.m.Observers: Nati A., Tal S., Sharon Sh., Rina Ts. (reporting). Translation: Galia S.Qalqiliya: This checkpoint has been active around the clock for the last 5 weeks. There is also another checkpoint on the lower road near Habla, which means that all the exits from Qalqiliya to the West Bank are blocked.It seems that we need to include the Qalqiliya checkpoints, or at least this one, in our regular observations course. (I am not sure if it will be possible for us to get to the checkpoint near Habla). We took the following course: We got in through the border passage at Qalqiliya, after which we immediately turned left near the sign to Sufin to the checkpoint. From there we returned to road 55 and went to Beit Iba. On our way back we passed at the Tulkarm checkpoints.06:30 – There are 5 Border Police soldiers at the checkpoint. This time the lines are not long. The soldiers tell us that an alert has been called concerning a certain type of vehicle, and therefore they check only vehicles of this type. What we have seen is that they stop vehicles randomly, ask questions and check to see if there are identity cards. Occasionally, they send a vehicle to wait aside, take an identity card and one of the soldiers sits and copies the numbers of the cards in a special notebook. According to the commander, they only write down card numbers of those who look suspicious. Today vehicles that enter Qalqiliya are also detained for some sort of inspection. Traffic-controller stripes are spread on the road on the Palestinian side.A commander arrives. (He looks like one, but it is hard to tell, since none of them is wearing his ranks). He gathers the soldiers for briefing and then answers our questions willingly.He claims that this checkpoint has always been there but it starts being active when the need arises. Recently it has been working around the clock for the last 5 weeks because of alerts. He has no idea when it will be dismantled, if ever. The reason it is operated by the Border Police is that being part of the police, they have authority over Israeli citizens as well.At Beit Iba, taxi drivers complained about this checkpoint and about the time they have to wait there. One of them said that the soldiers were rude to the Palestinians; while a friend of his said it was not true.

Location Description

Beit Iba

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A perimeter checkpoint west of the city of Nablus. Operated from 2001 to 2009 as one of the four permanent checkpoints info-icon closing on Nablus: Beit Furik and Awarta to the east and Hawara to the south. A pedestrian-only checkpoint, where MachsomWatch volunteers were present daily for several hours in the morning and afternoon to document the thousands of Palestinians waiting for hours in long queues with no shelter in the heat or rain, to leave the district city for anywhere else in the West Bank.
From March 2009, as part of the easing of the Palestinian movement in the West Bank, it was abolished, without a trace, and without any adverse change in the security situation.