International Checkpoint Watch - Daily Observations

Date:  July 12, 2001                                 Time:  17:10-19:30

Place Observed: Surda Checkpoint

Events Witnessed:

17:10             Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) is on the side of the road at the intersection.  No checkpoint yet.  2 soldiers are visible.  We stand on the opposite side of the road from the soldiers.

17:15  2 soldiers exit APC.  They begin to stop cars at random, but not all cars.  They inspect identification cards and search trunks.  A third soldier checks IDs against a list he carries in his hand.  Several cars are made to wait 10 minutes or more.  We cross the road to stand on the same side as the soldiers.  They do not approach us.

17:45  IDF jeep arrives for a shift change of soldiers.  There are still 3 soldiers checking cars and IDs, while a fourth visible in the APC.   The jeep leaves.

17:55  3 men from one car are forced to stand outside for 10 minutes. The driver is made to search his own car with a soldier watching.

18:05  Jeep arrives again, brings food supplies for soldiers.

18:10  We talk to a group of 10 men who are made to stand across the road from the soldiers while their IDs are inspected.  We give them handouts about ICW and they ask many questions, mostly dealing with ‘Why are we here’ and ‘What do we hope to accomplish.’  These men wait 15 minutes.  The soldiers are eating while they inspect the IDs.  Most cars arriving at the checkpoint slow down themselves, expecting to be inspected, but the soldiers motion most of them to pass.

18:25  There is now a long line of cars on the Ramallah side of the checkpoint, as the soldiers are inspecting every car leaving Ramallah but only a few heading towards Ramallah.

18:30            Soldiers enforce the checkpoint in both directions.  We approach the APC to see what they do with the IDs.  One soldier in glasses tells us to go away.  “This is a closed military zone,” he says.  We ask him exactly what is closed.  “All the area around the tank,” he responds.  “For our [the soldiers] safety, we don’t let anyone come close.”  This soldier is very willing to volunteer information, but one of his colleagues repeatedly tells him not to talk to us.

18:45  By now, the traffic jam is huge on either side.  New soldiers arrive - now 5 are checking cars, but very slowly.  Occasionally all of them go behind the APC while cars wait.  Some Palestinians begin to walk across the checkpoint rather than wait.  Traffic to Ramallah is at a standstill because the traffic leaving Ramallah is blocking the road.

18:55  APC heads up the hill.  One jeep and 5 soldiers remain.  One soldier places a barricade in the road to prevent the cars from creating multiple lanes.  At one point, for about 5 minutes, the soldiers gather together because they have received new orders, as we soon find out.  We approach them and ask them why they are not ‘working.’  One soldier complains to us that all of the honking is giving him a headache.  I ask him if he ‘must’ check all the cars.  “I want to check all of them,” he replies to me.  “Are you bored?” I ask, “Are you looking for someone?”  “I’d like to be at home,” he says.

19:05  A wedding caravan heading for the village of Kober arrives. Several Palestinians jump out and plead with the soldiers for a while to allow them to pass quickly.  The soldiers ask them to identify the cars with the wedding, and then all are allowed to pass without inspection.

19:20  Traffic lines are long.  Many people are out of their cars waiting.  One man says he has been waiting more than one hour.  One soldier takes the keys away from a taxi driver whose occupants have been waiting for 20 minutes to get their ids back.