Etzion DCL, Jaba (Lil), Thu 22.12.11, Afternoon

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Shlomit S., Ora A. (reporting). Charles K. (translating)

Dec-22-2011

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Afternoon

Seriously? Does this make us safer?

Etzion DCL: success! We found Khilik! After much searching, today we located him. Up until our Thursday shift, we hadn’t heard the name Khilik, nor did we look for him. But since then and till today we haven’t stopped trying to find him. When we came to the Etzion DCL Thursday afternoon, the place was quiet and sleepy. A man and woman came out, said that only two people were waiting within and that “everything’s OK today.” The soldier seated at the window said that “there were many people” in the morning, and “they took care of them all.”
After this report, we anticipated a quiet, brief shift. But then a young man who looked very tired and dejected approached us. He said that his ID had been taken at the beginning of the week at the Jaba checkpoint; since then he’s been trying to get it back, without success. He went to the DCL the next day to ask for it, but was told they didn’t have it. Nor was it there when he returned the following day. He went to Jaba, where they told him to come to the DCL today at noon. He arrived on time, but didn’t receive his ID. They told him they’d looked for it, but couldn’t find it. No one knows where it is. He asked us to help locate it. We began making phone calls, inquiring, asking questions, but the ID wasn’t found. We suggested he get a new ID card. He explained that a new one costs NIS 1000, a huge amount that he can’t afford.
We kept looking, unsuccessfully. We called Chana B., whose skills and connections are marvelous, and who very often is able to help. Chana contacted everyone she could, but no luck. She suggested we go to Jaba, talk to the people at the checkpoint and ask them to search for the ID. We asked the guy to wait for us at the DCL,

and drove to Jaba.

The checkpoint commander was polite and tried to help. He sent us to wait at a distance from the checkpoint, because it’s a “military area,” promising to look into it and get back to us. We waited. Evening fell. After a long time he returned to tell us they looked but couldn’t find it. We asked him to ask the soldiers; maybe they remember who took the ID. He agreed. When he came back, he said that one of the soldiers recalled that a DCL officer had conducted a tour of inspection, found an ID and took it. We asked that he get from the DCL the name of the officer who conducted the inspection that day, and his phone number. We waited in the dark. This time we didn’t wait in vain. When he returned he gave us the name: Khilik. Khilik took the ID. We notified Chana, who took it upon herself to find Khilik and the ID. It was already evening; it was clear that Khilik was no longer at the DCL, and it was doubtful he’d be there tomorrow, because it’s the eve of the Sabbath. We assumed that only on Sunday would we be able to contact him. And in fact today, Sunday, Khilik was there and the guy could go to the DCL and receive his ID.

Success.

Location Description

Jaba (Lil)

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In fact, the Jaba checkpoint is east of the Qalandiya checkpoint. Its declared purpose is the prevention of Israeli citizens from entering Area A.
A road checkpoint for vehicles, located on Road 65, borders the southern fence of Kfar Jaba, about three kilometers east of the Qalandiya checkpoint, on the road leading to the settlement of Adam on Road 60.
Archaeological excavations within the village found the remains of a cloth house from the First Temple period. The events that led to the construction of the checkpoint are precisely here: on the day of the abduction of Gilad Shalit and before the outbreak of the Second Lebanon War, a 17-year-old man from one of the settlements was abducted by a Palestinian cell.
His body was found several days later at the entrances to Ramallah. A military investigation revealed that his abductors had taken him along this route. The checkpoint was set up to prevent future kidnappings and to warn settlers from traveling to Ramallah and entering Area A (which is forbidden for Israelis).
The checkpoint that operates around the clock. Usually only vehicles traveling in the direction of Ramallah are inspected.
(November 2016): Every morning, when the settlers en masse travel to Jerusalem on Route 60 and every afternoon they return from Jerusalem on Route 60, the army initiates a traffic jam at the entrance to the Jaba checkpoint and stops the movement of Palestinians traveling toward Route 60.
(February 2020): In the last two years the checkpoint has not always been manned. Sometimes the soldiers come and just stand, sometimes they come and stop and check those who enter the village, sometimes they patrol the alleys of the village, sometimes they fire stun grenades and gas and sometimes they invade houses and stop young people, say those passing through the Hazma checkpoint.
(Updated February 2020)

Etzion DCO

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serves residents of Bethlehem and surrounding villages who need magnetic cards, work permits for Israel, permits for one-time entry for religious or health reasons, various police permits, etc.