My guide from Machsom Watch is Nomi, an Israeli Jew who is familiar with the laws governing the checkpoints and only too happy to give the soldiers a piece of her mind. She is among several hundred women involved with the group. The sign behind her at Beit Furik checkpoint, which governs the entrance to Nablus, reads: “Beware -- you are entering an area under Palestinian control”. Presumably no irony is intended.