International Checkpoint Watch - Daily Observations

Date:    June 18, 2001                                    Time: 07:30 - 09:00                
Place Observed: Surda Checkpoint

Number of Soldiers Present: 3 (and their fellows in the tank above the hill)

Soldiers Names, ID #’s, License Plate #’s, Etc:  license plate :  669343

Events Witnessed:

1         The closure of the road is considerably eased: all cars are allowed to drive through in both directions, with the exception made to private cars going from Ramallah to Birzeit.

2         We find it unusually quiet

3         One soldier on shift is preventing the above-mentioned cars to pass the checkpoint. "Only cars driven by foreigners and holders of a Jerusalem ID are authorized to pass", he stated.

4         We are able to stand beside the soldiers and to talk to them. They are friendly towards us. The subsequent conversation can be summarized as follows:

1)       They are convinced that checkpoints are necessary to prevent bombings in Israel.  They stated that military checkpoints are designed to insure the security of Israeli citizens and they have proved to be useful.

2)       They consider their presence as perfectly legitimate.