Beit Iba, Wed 2.1.08, Morning

Beit Iba

7.30 At the pedestrian lane elderly men and the women pass in an open lane. Men under 45 take their belts in their hands. The checking is very slow because of the wonders of modern technology.

Asam, the commander is busy for 10 minutes undoing the electric  reinforcer which one of the workers brought and the line lengthens.

The car lane is checked swiftly, maybe randomly.

8.05 Three people from Beit Gan come to the checkpoint with Zecharia. Their IDs had been taken from them when they were working their land near the village under the claim that they were on a military path and they had been told that they would get them at Beit Iba. Two of them were told to wait in the enclosure.  Zecharia has a document from the army which states that there is no reason not to allow the occupants of the village to work their lands and if there is a problem they should turn to the DCO at Nablus. This is what the commander M. does. Later when we speak to one of them by phone it seems that they were kept for two hours and their IDs had been taken an hour prior to that. Rina has their details.