International Checkpoint Watch - Daily Observations

Date:            26/9/2001                                Time:  16:00-19:00

Place Observed:  Surda

Number of Soldiers Present: 

Soldiers Names, ID #’s, License Plate #’s, Etc: 

Jeep #  669 947 present at one point.

Events Witnessed:

4:00 PM-  Upon arrival find two young men detained at the side of the road.  They say they were stopped trying to drive their motorcycle through the checkpoint toward Birzeit at 3:30 PM and had been detained since then with no explanation from the soldiers.  The motorcycle sat on the other side of the road.  Upon repeated questioning by the monitors the soldiers said the two were being held on police orders until the police could come and investigate the motorcycle, which they though was stolen from Israel.  The young men say they bought the bike from someone in Birzeit and that they tried to drive through the checkpoint because the owner’s license was expired. 

4:10 PM-  Jeep # 669 947 leaves to Bet El with three soldiers. 

4: 20 PM-  APC goes up hill with two soldiers.

5:20 PM-  The father of the young man who owned the motorcycle comes and shows the motorcycle’s papers to the soldiers, trying to convince them to release the two, to no avail.

5:25 PM-  One man detained for 25 minutes because he forgot his ID.  After a relative brought the ID he was permitted to go.

6:45 PM-  After 3 and a quarter hours of detainment and repeated questioning by the monitors the two men were given back their IDs and the motorcycle and permitted to leave.  After three hours of the soldiers insisting that they had orders to wait for the police the men were released without any police involvement and without any communication with the police as far as the monitors could determine.