There was a vehicle inspection at the Tapuah Junction (a central West Bank intersection). There are those 10-person taxis, minivan cabs. They were put up in a row with their hands behind their necks. It’s not necessary, they could stand in a regular way while their IDs are being checked. They were [being ordered to do that] for no reason, it was a super hot day, and I was ashamed. The whole way they do things at the junction is disgusting, sometimes – one of the [border] policewomen, she was taking her time, talking on the two-way radio, checking IDs, kidding around during the process, and these people are standing there – I don’t know for how long.

Standing with their hands on the backs of their necks? Yeah, in a row. It happens all the time, there’re routine checks all the time. It’s a central fucking junction in Samaria. So one time some senior figure in the [Palestinian] administration claimed, “I was passing through the junction and I saw three people bound up, down on their knees,” everybody was just seeing them being dried out there, and it looked bad. He’s mindful of the fact that they were arrested and it could be that there’s some security thing there – but hey, do it off to the side. An hour later, the same claim was made by another senior figure. [The response of the] border police: “We are not aware of this.”

That was the response, “Border police are not aware of this?” Not aware, simply not aware of anything like this going on. Later there was another claim, it happened a few times that people said that they were right at the junction, looking really bad, it looks bad, this situation. ‘Not aware, not aware, not aware.’ It took, like, three hours till they even admitted that something had happened there. The whole inspection took a long time, a really long time.

Hours? Yes, yes. It’s no surprise to me. That’s a long time. And then one of my commanders says, “No problem, no problem, beat them up – but do it behind some wall.” They say, “Ok, do whatever you feel like, but not in the middle of the junction.” So long as the high-ranking Palestinians don’t see.