Beit Iba, Thu 20.3.08, Afternoon
14:51 Beit Iba
The porters who work here come to speak with us when
we arrive. The soldiers today won't let them bring through vegetables and oil
as they usually do.
The checking at Beit Iba includes: passing through the
electronic device (which usually means one has to take off his shoes, belt and
jacket), checking of IDs, and the groping of all personal belongings.
Two men are detained in the compound. After we arrive,
the CP commander orders one to be released. The other tells us he was caught
sitting in a car far from the CP but the soldiers blame him for trying to
bypass the CP.
pick up when his check was finished, and only realized when he arrives at home.
The soldiers find the ID but the man has to talk for five more minutes in order
to convince the suspecting CP commander.
Next to the CP there is a truck. The passengers and
driver have been there for three hours because when one of the soldiers told
them to turn the truck in its place they accidentally made a dent in one of the
small plastic poles that are there. The soldiers have called the police.
The MP checking someone's ID yells at him: 'what's the
matter with you? Is this your first time at the CP? Well next time make sure
you take everything out!'
The soldier makes a 50 year old man go back and shut a
gate in the fence which the man didn't even know he was supposed to shut.
they're wearing faux military coats, which many young people in the West Bank
do. She's very enthusiastic about her find and examines the coats while the
young are taken into the compound. However the CP commander lets them on their
way several minutes later.
Some people call us from the Tiasir CP to say no cars
have been let through for the last two and a half hours.
16:10 another young
man is detained, and as he is, the former is let go of. They check the new
one's bags behind the compound making him place all the items on the dusty
ground and then push him into the compound.
being checked, but the soldier in charge has a short attention span, so he
wanders off, only returning to yell at the people who didn't realize they were
supposed to stop and wait in the first place.
account and the Palestinians' IDs, let the people go. The soldier tries to
convince the officer that the offence was grave.
At 16:35 we left. The detainee was still in
the compound.
who showed us photos taken by Alix of the vandalism done to his sister's house
by soldier invaders last week. Such events occur daily, still, I recommend that
anyone reading this report look at these photos, available on our website. His
sister will not complain because she's afraid. The people kidnapped by the
soldiers were released three days later.