Number of Soldiers Present: Four, later eight.
Soldiers Names, ID #’s, License Plate #’s, Etc:
Events Witnessed:
14:50- The first 1/2 hour it was "business as usual" at the Surda Checkpoint. Vehicles were stopped, but the majority were allowed through without being searched or checked for ID's. Only a few pedestrians on foot were asked for their ID's. Then, the shift of Israeli soldiers' changed and so did the situation.
15:30- New shift arrived. Basically one out of three men were stopped and had his ID checked. Each check took approximately 10 minutes. One soldier (seems in command) is particularly aggressive and shouts/whistles at Palestinians to order them to stop. Almost every bag or piece of luggage is being checked.
15:40- We notice that a young Palestinian had been waiting at the checkpoint since before we had arrived. He stated that he had been waiting one hour for his jacket that had been confiscated by the Israeli soldiers as he was walking by. We asked the Israeli soldier's why the Palestinians' jacket had been taken away. One soldier stated "it looks like an army jacket and, therefore, is "forbidden" for civilians to wear."
15:50- One student is made to show his notebooks to the soldiers; he is a photography student. We asked the soldier why he was checking the student's notebooks, stressing the fact that everybody enjoys freedom of speech/thought, the soldier interrupts me and states: "I want to see if there is anything written against Israel."
16:15- Two men were passing the checkpoint from Ramallah into Surda. One of the men was stopped and the other kept walking, attempting to pass the checkpoint. The man that was stopped was ordered to call the man that was walking with him. Instead, the two try to continue on their way to Surda. The soldier starts running very fast towards the taxis on the Surda side and shoots three times in the air. One man, Jihad Mohammed Abu Shrik, stopped and the other ran from the soldier. Mr. Jihad stated that the man that ran away was his brother. Mr. Jihad is handcuffed with plastic handcuffs and taken down to the checkpoint by three soldiers. He is made to sit on a rock for almost two hours -we stay and wait with him. He is also order to take off his shoes. His ID is checked, it gets darker, the break of the fast just passed, the road is almost empty and there are eight soldiers now (instead of four).
16:40- Armed Personnel Carrier drives down the hill and orders two Palestinian men walking by (carrying a heater) to stop. Their ID's are taken. The soldiers stated that they saw one of the men driving his truck on the road coming from the Israeli settlement road, to Beit El. The driver is ordered to get in his truck that he parked down the road. Once truck arrives, the two men are ordered to follow by truck the APC to the military base next to Bet El. They refuse. Soldiers get impatient, order them to sit in the truck. After 20 minutes, a military jeep arrives. The driver is ordered to follow the jeep to military base, the other man is free to go at 17:15. We phone Al-Haq (Palestinian Legal Advocacy organization), inform them that Aref (the truck driver) had been detained and gave them his identifying information. We call the truck driver the next morning and he stated that he was released at 22:30, after getting a lecture that it is forbidden to drive his truck on an "Israeli road." Aref tells me that while he was leaving the military base, the army was bringing in another Palestinian man.
18:00- Jihad Mohammed Abu Shrik is free to go- but without his shoes. The soldiers made Jihad to take off his shoes and they confiscated them. When asked by ICW monitors why Jihad's shoes were being confiscated, the soldiers stated that they are army boots from Tsahal with army serial numbers. Soldier orders a Palestinian man to get a taxi to take Jihad. He leaves with his ID but is ordered to meet Captain Louai (Shabak) at 10:00 the next morning at Al-Ram military base.