International Checkpoint Watch - Daily Observations

Date:  25 July 2001                                          Time:  08:30-10:15

Place Observed: Ar-Ram Checkpoint

Number of Soldiers Present:  Approximately ten Israeli Border Police, three members of the Israeli Defence Forces and one Jerusalem Police officer (another one appeared later).  There were also two plain-clothed Israelis wearing flak jackets.   

Soldiers Names, ID #’s, License Plate #’s, Etc: Border Police Jeep # 22280 (on the side of the vehicle)

Events Witnessed:  

Immediately upon our arrival, an Israeli Border Policeman approachs us and asks for our passports.  We show him our papers and he orders us not to take photographs.

08:30  Upon our arrival we find that six Palestinian have been detained.  Before being permitted to leave the detainees are made to talk to plain-clothed Israelis.  It appears that the plain-clothed Israelis have a list of some sort against which they are cross-checking with Palestinian IDs.  There is also a green Volvo pulled over on the road outbound from Jerusalem, near the Israeli’s checkpoint booth.  The Volvo has yellow plates and the plain-clothed Israelis are leaning against it.

We walk over to the detained Palestinians and begin asking them questions.  Shortly after, a Border Police agent comes out of the booth and tells us not to talk with the Palestinians.  The Jerusalem police officer comes over and tells us to move further away from the checkpoint.  We refuse to move and the soldiers walk away.

09:10 The Border Police pull over a white Ford van, presumably a service taxi, and detain two of its young male passengers.  Shortly after this, one of the detained Palestinians approaches us, and we ask him how long he had been there.  The border police demand that we move 50m away from our present location.  We move 5m away from them.  Shortly after, we crossed to the Ramallah-bound side of the road and began observing the Israeli forces.

09:40  The white Ford van is released.  None of the passengers are held.

After 20 minutes we return to the Jerusalem-bound side of the road. 

09:45 Upon his release, one of the detained Palestinians approaches us and tells us that he had been waiting for one and half hours.  Again, the same Border Police agent that had initially told us not to talk with Palestinians demands that we move further away.  “Me police!  You police?” he said.  He then motioned to the area around him and said, “this police.”  We moved 5m away behind one of the jeeps where we remained monitoring the Israeli forces until 10:15.