Machsom Watch

Machsom Watch, also known as Checkpoint Watch, is an Israeli women's human-rights organization focused on the treatment of Palestinians at Israeli military and border-police checkpoints in the West Bank. The Hebrew word machsom means checkpoint, and the name reflects the organization's central concern: how checkpoint systems regulate movement between Palestinian communities, the West Bank, and Israel, and how soldiers and police exercise authority over people seeking to pass. The organization was founded in 2001 by Ronnee Jaeger, Adi Kuntsman, and Yehudit Keshet after the founders decided to visit the Bethlehem checkpoint and observe conditions directly. The initiative emerged amid allegations of mistreatment and restrictions associated with the Second Intifada. Within weeks, approximately 30 women had joined the monitoring effort, many recruited through the Women in Black peace movement. Media attention helped the group expand to about 200 members by 2002, and its volunteer network reportedly reached roughly 400 participants in 2004. The group has been based in Tel Aviv and has organized activity across Jerusalem and the northern, central, and southern parts of the West Bank. Machsom Watch describes itself as politically pluralistic, although its members have generally been associated with liberal or left-wing Israeli backgrounds and opposition to the occupation. Its stated objectives include monitoring soldiers' and police officers' conduct, protecting the human and civil rights of Palestinians attempting to cross checkpoints, documenting incidents, and distributing reports to decision-makers, journalists, and the public. Some members also regard the checkpoints themselves as part of a broader occupation policy that should end. The organization therefore combines human-rights observation with political advocacy. Volunteers typically work in two- to four-hour shifts during morning and afternoon periods. They observe interactions between security personnel and Palestinians, take notes and photographs, and publish reports in Hebrew and English. When they believe a person is being delayed or treated improperly, they may speak with soldiers, contact senior military personnel, approach Israeli politicians or journalists, or assist with practical problems. Their monitoring extends beyond permanent checkpoints to agricultural gates in the separation-barrier area, temporary roadblocks, and other points where movement is controlled. Since December 2005, members have also observed proceedings in military detention centers and courts, including remand hearings, trials, appeals, verdicts, and sentencing. Their reported locations have included detention facilities in Jerusalem and Petah Tikva, the military courts at Ofer and near Salim, and civilian proceedings involving East Jerusalem Palestinians. Other activities have included visits to Palestinian villages, cooperation with local women, language-learning initiatives, assistance with contacts with the Civil Administration, and reporting on military operations. Volunteers have helped people address restrictions on entering Israel or leaving the country, agricultural-access problems in the Seam Zone, and infrastructure matters involving water and electricity. The organization also conducts educational tours in Hebrew and English through parts of the West Bank, the Jordan Valley, Jerusalem, and surrounding areas. Participants may visit checkpoints and Palestinian villages or meet residents; Machsom Watch has also offered remote presentations. Audiences have included students, youth movements, kibbutz groups, and participants in pre-military programs. Machsom Watch has attracted both recognition and criticism. In 2004 it received the Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award from the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. Israeli military officials and some soldiers have accused its activists of interfering with checkpoint operations, entering restricted areas, or verbally confronting personnel. The organization has also faced criticism over the limits of its political approach, including its refusal to assist Palestinians seeking compensation for alleged torture by the Palestinian Authority. Its public role remains that of a volunteer monitoring and advocacy organization rather than a commercial brand or financial institution.

Machsom Watch was established in 2001 by Ronnee Jaeger, Adi Kuntsman, and Yehudit Keshet. The founders went to the Bethlehem checkpoint to see conditions for themselves after hearing allegations of human-rights violations at Israeli military and border-police checkpoints. The effort quickly attracted other Israeli women, including activists connected with Women in Black. Around 30 women joined within weeks, and press coverage helped increase participation to approximately 200 members by 2002. The volunteer network reached a reported high of about 400 members in 2004. The group developed during the Second Intifada, when checkpoints, closures, temporary roadblocks, and other movement controls became central features of daily life in the West Bank. Its members sought to record how these systems operated in practice, including delays, denials of passage, searches, interactions with soldiers, and the treatment of people requiring medical, agricultural, educational, or commercial access. Machsom Watch presented its work as a means of protecting Palestinian civil and human rights while also bringing information about occupation practices to Israeli and international audiences. Field monitoring generally involved small teams visiting checkpoints in scheduled shifts. Activists observed nearby, kept written records, took photographs, and attempted to intervene when they believed soldiers or police were acting improperly. They might first approach personnel directly and, if that failed, contact commanders, journalists, or politicians. Reports were published in Hebrew and English. Monitoring expanded to agricultural gates along the separation barrier and to temporary or spontaneous roadblocks. The organization argued that the presence of observers could encourage more respectful treatment and faster passage. Machsom Watch later broadened its work to detention facilities and military courts. From December 2005, volunteers observed remand hearings, trials, appeals, verdicts, and sentencing in military and civilian venues involving Palestinians. They also visited Palestinian villages, worked with local women, supported language activities, communicated with the Civil Administration, and documented military actions such as the dispersal of demonstrations. A specialist group assisted Palestinians facing Shin Bet or police restrictions on travel, work, trade, or access to farmland, and volunteers supported appeals involving infrastructure and Seam Zone agricultural rights. Public education became another major activity. The organization arranged tours through the West Bank, the Jordan Valley, and Jerusalem-area routes containing checkpoints and roadblocks. Tours, offered in Hebrew and English, could include meetings with Palestinian residents, while similar presentations were held remotely. Participants included students, youth groups, kibbutz communities, and pre-military trainees. The organization's political identity has produced controversy. Machsom Watch has described itself as pluralistic but has generally drawn women with liberal or left-wing views and an opposition to the occupation. Some members see monitoring as a humanitarian obligation, while others view it as a form of protest against the checkpoint regime itself. Military officials and soldiers have accused activists of obstructing operations, entering restricted areas, or using abusive language. The group has also been criticized for declining to assist Palestinians seeking compensation for alleged torture by the Palestinian Authority, on the grounds that such assistance could legitimize the occupation and conflict with its political mission. In 2004 the Association for Civil Rights in Israel granted Machsom Watch the Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award. The group continued to document checkpoint and court practices, village conditions, and restrictions on Palestinian movement, maintaining a public-facing role centered on voluntary monitoring, reporting, advocacy, and assistance rather than commercial activity.

• 2011

  Awarta field visit

  [1]Machsom Watchen.wikipedia.org

  Activists visited Awarta after the Itamar attack and reported on the effects of Israeli military operations on local residents.

• 2005

  Military-court observation begins

  [1]Machsom Watchen.wikipedia.org

  From December, volunteers began systematically observing Palestinian detention and military-court proceedings.

• 2004

  Membership reaches reported peak and group receives human-rights award

  [1]Machsom Watchen.wikipedia.org

  Participation reportedly reached about 400 volunteers, and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel awarded the Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award.

• 2002

  Membership expands

  [1]Machsom Watchen.wikipedia.org

  Media attention helped the volunteer organization grow to approximately 200 members and broaden monitoring beyond Jerusalem-area checkpoints.

• 2001

  Organization founded

  [1]Machsom Watchen.wikipedia.org

  Ronnee Jaeger, Adi Kuntsman, and Yehudit Keshet established Machsom Watch after visiting the Bethlehem checkpoint to investigate reported rights violations.

A volunteer-led Israeli women's rights organization combining field observation, documentation, advocacy, and practical assistance for Palestinians affected by checkpoint and occupation policies.

• Human-rights observation · 2001

  Checkpoint monitoring

  Volunteer teams observe Israeli military and border-police checkpoints, agricultural gates, and temporary roadblocks in and around the West Bank. They document waiting conditions, denials of passage, searches, and interactions between security personnel and Palestinians. When possible, activists seek immediate improvements by speaking to soldiers or escalating concerns to commanders, media, or Israeli officials.

• Legal-process monitoring · 2005

  Military-court observation

  Volunteer observers follow detention hearings, remand extensions, trials, appeals, verdicts, and sentencing in Israeli military and selected civilian courts involving Palestinians. The work is intended to document how detention and judicial procedures affect movement and civil rights, rather than to provide commercial legal representation.

• Public education

  Public tours and education

  Machsom Watch organizes Hebrew- and English-language tours through areas containing checkpoints, roadblocks, and Palestinian villages. It also conducts talks or virtual tours for students, youth movements, kibbutz groups, and pre-military programs, combining field observation with encounters with Palestinian residents.

• Humanitarian assistance

  Bureaucratic and access assistance

  Volunteers help Palestinians address travel, work, trade, agricultural-access, and infrastructure problems involving Israeli security authorities and the Civil Administration. Assistance can include submitting appeals, contacting coordination offices, and seeking access to land isolated by the separation barrier.

• 2008

  Disruption and unauthorized-access allegations

  Military Police commanders began filming the group's work after repeated complaints from soldiers that activists interfered with checkpoint operations and entered restricted areas without permission.

  Source

• 2006

  Alleged verbal abuse of checkpoint soldier

  A soldier accused a Machsom Watch activist of calling him a Nazi and using other insults during a disagreement over the organization of a checkpoint line. The activist later apologized.

  Source

• 2004

  Beit-Iba checkpoint violin incident

  Machsom Watch publicized video of a Palestinian violinist being asked to play by soldiers at a checkpoint. The military criticized the conduct as insensitive, while later saying the performance was voluntary; the musician disputed that account. The organization's observers acknowledged that they had not heard the full exchange and did not speak Arabic.

  Source

Read more

• Adopt a combined monitoring and advocacy modelStrategy

  Background

  The organization sought both to document checkpoint conduct and to influence Israeli and international public opinion about Palestinian movement restrictions and the occupation.

  Action taken

  It combined field observation, incident reporting, direct interventions with soldiers, contacts with officials and journalists, public tours, and political advocacy.

  Aftermath

  The model gave Machsom Watch a visible public role but also exposed it to criticism from military personnel and opponents of its political position.

  Source

1. 1Machsom Watchen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Machsom Watch official websitemachsomwatch.org