Beit Iba

09:00 Since there’s no English lesson in Hars this week either, we leave Rosh Ha’Ayin to visit checkpoints. Our first stop is the Sha’ar Efrayim terminal. We met a very well-dressed Palestinian, beaming happily. He’d received a New Year’s present: an entry permit to work in Israel. H. is 28, from Irtach; he’s been blacklisted by the Shabak for ten years (because of an informer, he says). He speaks fluent Hebrew, from having worked in Israel when he was 13 (!) to 17. During the past ten years he married, had four daughters and barely was able to support his family by meager allowances from the UN and help from his father living in Jordan. Now he has only six days to find a job. And if he fails – he’ll have to wait a few months to receive six more days. If he succeeds, H. will be one of more than 5000 people crossing through this terminal every day from 4 in the morning until 7 in the evening.

One of the guards is a polite young Ethiopian. He’s already met women from Machsom Watch who’ve been to the terminal. It’s good thing, he says. He has very moderate political views: he’s in favor of a Palestinian state. Against a bi-national state. He invites us to return; we leave feeling it’s good there’s someone like him here at this explosive location.

From the terminal we continue to the village of Tzabara. After the inhabitants refused annexation to Tayibeh they’re getting a fence “of their own.”

The next stop – the Anabta checkpoint, leading to Area A. Traffic here is light; the checkpoint opens only when the occasional vehicle arrives.

11:30 Deir Sharab. There used to be a checkpoint at the entrance to this village where Palestinians were treated terribly. Today the checkpoint is open and not manned. The restrictions on development that were imposed on the village have also been lifted and it’s bustling, many shops are open, there’s a small café where elderly men sit engaged in a lively conversation. A pleasant atmosphere.

Then to Beit Iba. That checkpoint has also been removed; only the concrete barriers remain as souvenirs at the entrance to the village. A refreshing innovation at the exit from the village: a restaurant that provides children who accompany their parents with something to do – a playground with colorful equipment.

Via Jit junction to Nabi Elias, then to the Elliyahu gate. A manned army jeep by the roadside brings us back to reality. Vehicles go through the gate without problems.

12:00 Back to Rosh Ha’Ayin.

Natanya translating

7.00 Habla. When we arrived the bus with girls was parked and had been waiting a long time.

A tractor goes by with no delay.

7.10The bus with the boys arrives. After a usual check the driver got out very angry. The woman soldier wanted him to wait but he had no problem making it clear that the children could not be late for school.  The traffic flow is relatively slow. There are not many people. There are many donkeys.

On the Palestinian side left of the fence a group of internationals are watching. We could not contact them.

8.00We arrived at Beit Iba–Deir Sharafthrough Sara. All is quiet and no army vehicle is to be seen on our way. We stopped to speak to the people in the shop.  There is a growth in development but the road is still very bad as always. The plans to improve and widen it have been put aside. (Where did the money go to?). The problem of wild boar has not been solved and they come up every now and again from the wadi.

Shavei Shomron.The traffic flows. The ugly cement blocks of the checkpoints remind as that everything can change in a moment.

8.30 Anabta.The traffic flows with no problems.

8.50 Irtah.There are four buses there (amongst the six of the morning). They are taking the families to visit the prisoners. People kept arriving at the checkpoint and getting into the buses. We spoke to some of them and without taking into account the horrible situation there were no complaints. One of the buses left without being accompanied by police or army. It seems this is the accepted procedure.

9:00 am:   Tamar is a new member of MachsomWatch and this was her first tour as an observer.

We went through the Eliyahu gate, into Azzunand under road 55 toward Tulkarem. We passed  Jayyus, Kafr Jammal and A-ras.We noted that as we went further from Qalqiliya the hills were barren. There were fewer and fewer olive trees. We speculated that lack of water was the reason.

We were looking for olive harvesters but saw almost none. The olive harvest is not yet in full swing.

By the Te'enim gatewe met Abed for whom we had brought forms to sign. We saw the empty checkpoint inAnabtaand went on to Dir Sharrafsay hello to our old friend, Jammal, at his mini market. We visited the area where the Beit Ibacheckpoint had been, and explained to Tamar how it had once worked. Tamar also saw the beautiful wall surrounding  an olive grove and Shavei Shomron settlement. We drove through Al-Fundukand Nabi Elyas, and left by the Eliyahu gate. 

We visited the Habla gatethat was closed at that hour, 11:00 am.

Summary
The October 2011 reports of the United Nation’s (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Occupied Palestinian Territories (OCHOA), began either with “Fast Facts” or “Key Issues.” Both headings speak to an Occupation that is even more horrible than in the past. “Israeli forces injured 22 Palestinians throughout the OPT. Settlers injured another three Palestinians and vandalized around 250 trees. Israeli authorities demolished 26 Palestinian-owned structures, mainly including residential tents and water cisterns in “Area C,” where Israel retains control over security as well as planning and zoning. And all this throughout the OPT where already half a million Israelis live, and where Israel, in A.B. Yehoshua’s words, “nibbles” at the territory of the Palestinians where, in fact it is “plundering and infringing the very essence of the inhabitants’ identity.” What hope is there for a Palestinian state in such an environment?

Habla, Gate 1392
13:02 – the mess created by the change, in Israel, but not in Palestine, from daylight savings time last week, seems to have worked itself out. The same, we are told, could be said about the change from the IDF to a privately contracted firm to be on duty at Sha’ar Eliahu (Gate 109) where the checking , we are told, is a little less arduous than last week, but where Palestinians are treated very differently, surprise, surprise, from Israelis. These conversations go on while all wait for the gate/checkpoint to open. A soldier comes out to the waiting Palestinians, about a dozen of them, to say, “in two minutes.”

13:06 – again, surprise, surprise, the two minutes is, in fact, five when a Hummer arrives bringing the rest of those scheduled, including the Military Policewoman who again makes her presence felt here.

13:15 – the same people waiting here before 13:00, including the lady who offered us fresh “lubia” (freshly picked beans), still wait.

13:25 – only now do most of the waiting people get through. Shortly afterwards, the school bus comes by, carrying the cheerful Bedouin school kids (boys today) on their way home. We notice, not for the first time, that the bus, this school year, is much smaller than before. We wonder if this hasn’t to do with the number of homes that have been pulled down from the area near Alfei Menashe, in which case, those children probably no longer go to school in Habla.

13:30 – Separation Barrier near the ’Enclave’ around Alfei Menashe
Once again the gate here, facing us, is open, again no work on the new road being created by Israel near the Barrier, and we note that the flags are still flying at the little hamlet which is surrounded on all sides by Israel’s so-called “protective measures,” but which, in actual fact, give license for the settlement of Alfei Menashe to expand and attain contiguity with the nearby Green Line.
Qalqiliya
Free flowing traffic, no police or military
Route 55
All quiet today, few military or police vehicles around. At Azzun, we note, once again, that the flags that flew so proudly the day Abu Mazen returned to Ramallah from the UN General Assembly are no more. Individual flags, perhaps, for those who are brave enough to withstand the punishment of the Occupiers, but at the official level, say, the Municipality of Azzun, no way can they deal with the harassment and humiliation which has surely made them remove the colorful bunting and the flags from the central roundabout in this town.

Beit Iba
There are works going on at the former checkpoint, and rather than leaping to conclusions, we realize that the rocky road leading to Deir Sharaf is probably also caused by infrastructure works, maybe new sewers (and not the recreation of the infamous checkpoint).

Shavei Shomron
No checkpoint, no police or military in sight. Just the usual busy traffic making its way onward to Jenin.

14:30 Deir Sharaf
The DCO was “good enough,” we learn, to call the local Council to tell the Palestinian landowners that they had from 9-13 October to pick their own olives in the olive groves just south of the Shavei Shomron settlement. So, today, the second day of Israeli-authorized olive picking – from lands many of which were, years ago, stolen from local families, some  are indeed picking olives, but, once again this year, in their words, “It’s only half a harvest.” Only two brothers of the M. family are picking olives where once, maybe four or five years ago, some of us joined the many brothers and sisters, the aging mother and a variety of youngsters. S., the man selling vegetables and fruits from a cart, shows the meager picking of his harvest. Half a sack load where once he had sixty. He goes on to tell us of the scourge of wild boars that descend on the village after nightfall, the boars having been set upon the village of Deir Sharaf, by the Israelis, at the start of the Second Intifada, and boars, as most people know, eat everything and make life exceedingly difficult – but that’s the idea of this Occupation.

On the way to Anabta and Jubara, nothing to report, and at the Figs Gate, all our IDs or passports are checked or rather looked quizzically by an uncommunicative military policeman, our trunk checked. Business as usual.

15:30 Irtah/Sha’ar Efraim
Surprise, surprise, the guard, whom we already know, more or less welcomes us, telling us that Palestinians are no longer checked on their return from work as they make their way back home, but that we can’t join them. To Tulkarm, we wonder? And he tells of the delicious food, particularly the hummus that he’s eaten there. A mad world.

The many, many men returning from work are cheerful, and often have greetings for the four of us. One woman whom we’ve known from the Habla gate now tells of her great joy in coming through this “terminal” as she now has a job (plus, of course, a permit) to work in another town in Israel proper. The usual cheerfulness and friendliness of the Palestinian workers is heartwarming. 

Since  last week we came across a flying checkpoint at A-Ras, and read in the reports of additional flying checkpoints, we decided to drive along roads where there used to be permanent checkpoints and flying checkpoints.  We were pleased that we saw no checkpoints, and hardly any soldiers.

06:40  Eliyahu crossing – About 30 laborers are still waiting to enter. 

06:47  The gate is open.  There’s no line and people cross quickly.  The female MP knows all those coming through.  A truck with 4 people and empty crates in the back is inspected quickly and crosses; we see it going up the hill between the fruit orchards.  A horse cart, tractor carrying workers, another tractor pass.  An acquaintance of ours, who owns the field adjoining the gate, arrives with a horse and cart.  He tells us that the field next to the fence on the other side, the fence and the security road opposite the gate and fields on the other side of the fence all belong to him.  He has four sons and four daughters, none of whom have received permits to cross, even during the olive harvest, and he’s forced to hire workers and pay them. 

07:15  At this moment they close the gate. 

07:28  Falamya crossing – The soldiers gather in the guard tower.  No one comes or goes.

07:45  No one has crossed, and we leave.

08:05  On route 55, more or less opposite Ramat Gil’ad (just past the turn to Karnei Shomron), on the left side of the road, we saw a large new yellow sign warning of mines (?).  We weren’t able to stop and look more closely.

We saw no military vehicles or soldiers along the road.

Some stores in Funduq are open and people are on the street.

Shvut Ami (R.I.P.) and its hills are deserted; no soldiers at the Qedumim hitchhiking station.

Israeli police stop a Palestinian vehicle by the roadside.  No soldiers at Jit junction.  We drive on the road to Sara that had been closed and is now open and repaved, pass the turn to Sara, continue and at the large junction turn left toward Qusin village.  There are new roads and considerable new, attractive construction.  We pass by the village which suffered greatly when the Beit Iba checkpoint was operating and reach the ruins of the checkpoint where today shepherds put their goats and sheep to graze.

08:30  We make another left and reach Deir Sharaf.  The bakery begins operating only in the afternoon and all night, till early morning.

We drive up to Shavei Shomron; there are no soldiers and we’re pleased to see that the yellow gate opposite Shavei Shomron that for years was locked and blocked access to Naqura and Sebastya has recently been dismantled, and entry is unrestricted.

08:45  At the junction of Routes 57 and 60 we see our first military vehicle, an armored car going up to Shavei Shomron.

At the 'Anabta checkpoint rising for the greater glory of Israel there’s a military command car and soldiers in the pillbox.  At the checkpoint we turn around and return.

09:00  We leave the territories for home through the Te’anim checkpoint without being delayed.

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Summary
We are quite accustomed to being known as, or calling ourselves, “activists.” Yet, recently, we were referred to as “dissidents,” a term which surely describes who and what we are. We are dissidents as we dissent from the established policy of the government. We are dissenters who object to the political orthodoxy of the majority in Israel, and we protest and, yes, act according to now established traditions of our ten year old grassroots organization. We are also recusants or nonconformists who refuse to conform to established standards of conduct for Israelis where many, if not most, believe the eyes of others. Above all, perhaps, we demystify the faith on which much of Israel functions, by refusing to rely on external authority and relying, instead, on our own internal authority, believing with our own eyes, “bearing witness,” thereby maintaining the freedom of expression and protest on which this country must rely.

Below, what we bore witness to, today:

Habla
13:03 – the gates are open -- actually on each side of the Separation Barrier only one of the two gates is open. The pedestrian gate, newly installed only a few months ago, is padlocked.  It is hot, and a soldier even asks if we require water! The inevitable military policewoman is talking to a man in a pony cart, together with a small child, and it looks as if there is an altercation, but no, we are wrong, there is nothing like that going on – this as he passes us from the middle of the Separation Barrier.

13:07 – an army jeep arrives and seems to deliver but one lunch to the one soldier who is obviously orthodox… Besides him, there are three soldiers in the concrete shelter on the Separation Barrier another one in the concrete shelter on the other side and one or two inside: a full complement, more than is called for on this hot summer day in the Seam Zone.

A man arrives on our side, together with an older woman, and he keeps repeating, ad infinitum, that some of the army are good, some are bad.

Not borne witness to, but heard, that now foodstuff for animals, sheep and horses is not allowed across the Separation  Barrier, a ruling which is, evidently, quite legitimate to the newly promoted Matak (DCO officer). Another nail into the institutionalization of the Occupation, and, as usual, it is not pretty and makes us wonder at what lies ahead….

13:15 – as we leave the agricultural gate, one of the nursery owners, already known to us, asks if we’d like water, which we already have – in bottles. But he takes us into the hut, provided for the Palestinians by the Mennonites and the Catholic Relief Services in the beginnings of the Second Intifada, so many years ago, and asks us to drink from the spring water. We feel very privileged as we sip the cool, almost sweet water from the hose and fear that this, too, will be cut off by the Occupier all too soon.

Route 55
Nothing unusual to report, just a lot of traffic, Palestinian and Israeli.

Beit Iba and Deir Sharaf
There is a sign of the start of affluence. The Huwwash Brothers, with their glass imported from China and reaching Nablus via Ashdod, via the back-to-back at Irtah, and the continuing beautiful carpentry work commissioned,  by wealthy Palestinians, in either Israel or Palestine.

Anabta, Jubara and Irtah
Traffic moves freely at Anabta, no visible soldiers and no coffee man at the junction.
At Jubara, Abu Ghatem’s house is festooned with colored streamers: another wedding? Just as important are the white boulders round his property, or part of it, and there is work, but not at this time of day, going on, still, recreating the Separation Barrier. Lots of workers’ “caravans” in the parking lot, built so many years ago – to house no such vehicles at all.

16:20 Irtah
Many workers returning home, no turnstiles or barriers on the way back, at least near us, just a bit of maneuvering needed if a TV or a large agricultural piece of equipment needs to be ushered through the many turnstiles beyond our sight. In spite of the heat, the men  have time to joke with us, “Sure everything is wonderful in the mornings,” or, “how are you girls, today?” and for once, in a life of working on behalf of women’s rights, don’t feel offended. The congenial nature, the good mood of Palestinians, generally, is something that we should be in awe of. It is a sound and a sight wondrous to behold.

show details 5:36 PM (49 minutes ago)

Habla, Izbet Tabib, Falamya, roads, 30.5.11, morning

Observers:  Niba D., Leora S. (a new member), Rony S. (reporting)

Translator:  Charles K.

07:00    Habla

The gates opened on time, but crossing is very slow.

It took seven minutes to inspect the first five, and that continued.  An MP outside waved the bus drivers through, as well as Palestinians with special permits.  But most people had to wait a very long time.  It turned out the computer has been down for a few days.  We notified the humanitarian office.

07:45    We left

 07:50  Eliyahu crossing

There are still about 20 Palestinians waiting to go through.

08:00  We drove on Izbet Tabib’s local road to see the new fence.  It’s still not completed but it’s possible to see how, when it’s done, it will block access to the olive trees.

We drove via 'Azzun to Jayyus, and through the lovely orchards to the Falamya agricultural gate  .Work paving the road to Tulkarm is continuing and all traffic takes a side road, raising much dust.There is very little traffic at the gate.

We continued on the Falamya bypass road to Kufr Jamal and through other villages, in all of which roads are being paved and widened.  We returned to Route 55 via Funduq.

We saw no soldiers or military vehicles on the road during our entire drive (including Jit junction).

A completely new neighborhood is under construction at Qedumim.

We drove along the Shavei Shomron wall through Deir Sharaf to Route 60.  A few Israeli pickup trucks and people looking at maps stood in the empty lot opposite the location where the checkpoint and the gate to that settlement once stood.

I recommend going by there from time to time to see whether anything changes!!

Since a new member had joined us, we drove to Beit Iba to show her the remains of the terrible checkpoint that was there.  We found it difficult to describe to her how awful it was, and how one day Israel’s security no longer required it.

We stopped for a coffee break and pastry at our friend’s grocery/bakery in Deir Sharaf.

On our way back we saw a number of military vehicles on the road.

We drove via 'Anabta, and were surprised to come upon two Israeli vehicles at the checkpoint, from which three officers emerged.  We also left our car to observe them.  They ignored us, of course, and discussed the condition of the road at the abandoned checkpoint, examined what had been installed there for the greater glory of the state of Israel, and drove on.

At the same time, Palestinian vehicles were driving back and forth, ignored by the soldiers in the guard tower.

In our honor, a soldier climbed down and asked what we’re doing.  Observing, we replied.  He asked us not to go through the checkpoint.  We agreed…

On the way back we went through the entrance to Avnei Hefets to show Leora how the settlement has taken over Shufa’s lands and prevents free passage between the two parts of the village, and access to the main road. 

We returned home via the Te’anim crossing (Jabara).  We began to tell Leora about Jabara and Abu Hattam, but it made us sad and weary.

There were no serious or unusual incidents during our shift, but it again provided a clear example of how difficult the occupation routine is. 

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07:00    Habla

The gates opened on time, but crossing is very slow.

It took seven minutes to inspect the first five, and that continued.  An MP outside waved the bus drivers through, as well as Palestinians with special permits.  But most people had to wait a very long time.  It turned out the computer has been down for a few days.  We notified the humanitarian office.

07:45    We left

 07:50  Eliyahu crossing

There are still about 20 Palestinians waiting to go through.

08:00  We drove on Izbet Tabib’s local road to see the new fence.  It’s still not completed but it’s possible to see how, when it’s done, it will block access to the olive trees.

We drove via 'Azzun to Jayyus, and through the lovely orchards to the Falamya agricultural gate  .Work paving the road to Tulkarm is continuing and all traffic takes a side road, raising much dust.There is very little traffic at the gate.

We continued on the Falamya bypass road to Kufr Jamal and through other villages, in all of which roads are being paved and widened.  We returned to Route 55 via Funduq.

We saw no soldiers or military vehicles on the road during our entire drive (including Jit junction).

A completely new neighborhood is under construction at Qedumim.

We drove along the Shavei Shomron wall through Deir Sharaf to Route 60.  A few Israeli pickup trucks and people looking at maps stood in the empty lot opposite the location where the checkpoint and the gate to that settlement once stood.

I recommend going by there from time to time to see whether anything changes!!

Since a new member had joined us, we drove to Beit Iba to show her the remains of the terrible checkpoint that was there.  We found it difficult to describe to her how awful it was, and how one day Israel’s security no longer required it.

We stopped for a coffee break and pastry at our friend’s grocery/bakery in Deir Sharaf.

On our way back we saw a number of military vehicles on the road.

We drove via 'Anabta, and were surprised to come upon two Israeli vehicles at the checkpoint, from which three officers emerged.  We also left our car to observe them.  They ignored us, of course, and discussed the condition of the road at the abandoned checkpoint, examined what had been installed there for the greater glory of the state of Israel, and drove on.

At the same time, Palestinian vehicles were driving back and forth, ignored by the soldiers in the guard tower.

In our honor, a soldier climbed down and asked what we’re doing.  Observing, we replied.  He asked us not to go through the checkpoint.  We agreed…

On the way back we went through the entrance to Avnei Hefets to show Leora how the settlement has taken over Shufa’s lands and prevents free passage between the two parts of the village, and access to the main road. 

We returned home via the Te’anim crossing (Jabara).  We began to tell Leora about Jabara and Abu Hattam, but it made us sad and weary.

There were no serious or unusual incidents during our shift, but it again provided a clear example of how difficult the occupation routine is. 

Summary

It’s of course presumptuous to say that the women of MachsomWatch are helping to harness change in the Middle East, but it’s true that we are, have been and will continue to be a democratic movement, and that we have called for an end to what looks like permanent occupation, and for a peace deal based on endorsing the reality of Israel’s boundaries before the 1967 Six Day War. Our main objectives are based on the protection of Palestinian human rights of which earning a livelihood and enjoying freedom of movement are but two rights on which we report violations. Moreover, we who pass into the OPT and monitor the ever creeping Separation Barrier, and what it involves, see in it a demographic reality that does increasing damage to the fabric of Palestinian life with the non stop harassment and humiliation that defines occupation.

13:15 Green Line

We cross the Green Line, over Route 6, Israel’s only toll road, and wonder, as we do, each week, how our fellow citizens are left in total ignorance as to where that line should, in fact, be. There are no markings, no signs of what once existed or exists today on precious few maps. The Green Line between what is internationally recognized (the 1949 Armistice) as Israel and what is occupied Palestinian territory tends to be ignored both in theory and practice. And to the women of MachsomWatch it’s pretty clear that the Israeli government would like to move final borders as far east as they possibly can. It is therefore obvious why Netanyahu, now in Washington, downplays the significance of the Green Line. But the reality we view, several kilometers ahead and east of us, is the ever creeping Separation Barrier, snaking its way through lands that have, for generations, been Palestinian owned.

13:20 Habla Gate 1392

The gates have been open for a while; the almost brand new pedestrian gate is now padlocked, no longer used – after how few weeks? A soldier, one of a group of reservists, tells us that they are new here; that he has no idea about a school bus of Bedouin children, but a bus has already passed; he adds, quite cheerfully, that he’d prefer to be at the Dead Sea or in Eilat, but then the conversation ceases when a fellow soldier informs us that we cannot stand where we have been, but need to step back to the gate itself.

Another soldier trains a pair of binoculars on the village of Habla, and on being asked why, says he’s looking at “the view” including flowers of which there are none at this time of year.

A beautiful horse appears, together with a frisky and skittish young foal not far behind, but otherwise few people, just one tractor and one horse drawn cartful of fruit.

Route 55, Deir Sharaf, Anabta, Route 57

Nothing untoward to report, merely that Occupation seems to go on forever. Happily, the beautiful carpentry work of the Huwwash Brothers near the former Beit Iba checkpoint seems to display a more welcoming permanence.

Near Jubara, on Route 57, one Hummer has stopped an Israeli car (yellow license plates), on the side of the road, and at Jubara the two seated soldiers don’t even bother to get up as we pass.

16:10 – cows crossing the road make a change from the customary goats and sheep, and these, not the usual black and white, but light brown, waddle their way to yellowing fields, which seem to provide little sustenance for the likes of cows, near the back-to- back crossing at Irtah.

16:15 Irtah (Sha’ar Efraim)

A large crowd of returning workers in a never ending flow, but no women at this relatively late hour. We learn that entry into Israel for the laborers this morning, the first day of the new week, was “as expected” but, lo and behold, the entryway, through the turnstile, into the checking hall, is completely closed and, instead, a metal gate, leading directly to a turnstile, leading down to the other turnstiles by the parking lot on the Palestinian side of the “terminal” is now open.

We express our pleasant surprise to the Palestinians who greet us in their usual manner, but as they walk this untrodden path homewards, they display no emotion, either of astonishment or joy, at this so-called new found freedom. After all, the checking hall and its ugly monitoring of body and foodstuffs could be back tomorrow! Years of occupation have taught Palestinians that nothing can be trusted, that the only consistency about occupation lies in its inconsistency.

As is usual here, we have been spotted by the private contracting company overseeing this “terminal,” and a staff member appears from inside the checking hall, telling us, that today is the first day of a new policy: no checking of Palestinians on their return to the Territories. He has no idea who made such a decision, merely that for the first time in his five years at the “terminal,” there is no checking of returning Palestinians -- at least for today.

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Izbat Tabib (not) checkpoints Nablus                                                                                                                          

The settlements thrive. Remains of checkpoints and watchtowers are a reminder and warning of possible army action at any moment.  Army vehicles assert presence on roads.  On the main road of the village Hawarra trade is developing.

We set out after a long absence from the Nablus area.  But first we turned to Izbat Tabib as we had been invited to meet people there.

11.30 Izbat Tabib.  We met M. on whose land next to route 55 the military plan to put a fence.  There were a few international volunteers and a few men, women and children of the village.  They piled dry grasses on M’s wagon. While we were there military vehicles of the DCO passed now and then on the road to 'Azzun.  They would pause a while and then continue. One of the international volunteers, A., said that the soldiers told the people to leave.  But while we were there we did not see them physically preventing people from working.

Dalia and Dvorka arrived and when we saw the people continuing to work, we left at 12.10  and continued to Nablus checkpoints.

We drove via 'Azzun (10 minutes) and returned to route 55.  We passed  Kedumim which spreads over both sides of the road, with permanent stone-covered buildings.

G'it  Punduk:  At the G’it junction  we saw cars continuing to Sirah,  turning to Route 60 to reach Hawarra. At Yizhar, too, we saw continuing expansion.  In the square at the approach to Hawarra soldiers were manning the watchtower as well as the watch point at the ascent to Har Bracha.  The checkpoint itself seemed abandoned.  Weeds abound.  Cars travel unimpeded in both directions. The pillbox appears manned.  We turned towards ‘Madison route’. A sign advertises a women’s clothes shop opened in the local council area and further there is an improvised notice saying in English ‘to Awarta only’ with an arrow pointing right.

A yellow metal bar blocks what was once the way to theback to back checkpoint and to Nablus and there are no soldiers on guard.

12.55 Beit Furik is not manned traffic is free in both directions. On a concrete pillar in the direction away from Nablus (where once was written ‘death to Arabs’) is now handwritten “No turn left” (i.e., towards Elon Moreh).

13.48  Where ‘Haviot' checkpoint was previously,  there are means of closing but the road is open.

13.58  Similarly where once Shavei Shomron checkpoint was, the opening that had been made in the wall, which joined the road to the army camp has been blocked.  On the wall itself there is a fence.

In the area of the previous Beit Iba checkpoint, the quarry works and spreads. No sign of the factory ‘Juneidi.’

In order to pass Zatrah, we returned via Hawarra. The main road of Hawarra is full of signs advertising new products and businesses.  Some are written in Hebrew.  They invite passers-by to take part in the opening of Palestinian commerce.

14.23Zatrah is manned by Border Police.  7 cars are in line.  The policeman peers through the window of each car.

And at Ma’avar Shomron (Shomron Crossing) we once again enjoyed the privilege of being ‘white.’ 

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 Not exactly a shift, but more of an additional  tour for Aviva and Antia, who are joining Machsomwatch.

07:15     Irtach When we arrived, we saw workers still going out on foot in the direction of Taybeh, as well as taxis waiting for passengers within the checkpoint parking lot.  Very few people in the area of the turnstiles, no hurry, the turnstiles were open.

 07:35  Eyal We parked in the lot and entered in order to make acquaintance with this passage.  Although I explained how to get here, it seemed irrelevant to me in the present situation when they do not allow us to see the crossing point and the director of the checkpoint wants us to "co-ordinate" with him (at 04:00?) since, if we don't, there are snipers around who might shoot at us.  This same director ran towards us very energetically, crying out "Who are you, what are you doing here?"  (We were in the plaza, for those who know the place, right at the entrance;  to our right, Palestinians in holiday dress waiting for transport - visiting prisoners?  To our left, there are the last of the workers going out to work).  When he gets closer and identifies us, he continues to shout "I have an arrangement with you, don't I?"  With such depressing violence we simply turned around and went back to the car. Case closed.  On the outside gate, we saw, next to the "Do Not Photograph" sign, an additional, new blue sign on which was written: "Entrance by permit only".  I photographed the sign.  And then, we couldn't believe our eyes:  3 real Rambo types ran so fast in our direction that I thought a raging lion was attacking a child behind us!  But they stopped next to us, with drawn weapons, calling out "She photographed!"  etc.  Two minutes later, and a lot more shouting on the walkie-talkie, without saying a word to us, they left.

 08:25  Habla, agricultural gate. No Palestinians.  About 8 soldiers, probably reserve, and a jeep.

 08:30 Lock up, exactly on time.  Sweep the path under the gate, leave.  Aviva and Antia were in Beit Iba a month ago and there was a checkpoint on highway #60, in the direction of Sebastiya.  Today we went by there and there was no checkpoint.  We traveled a bit within Sebastiya;  we saw a women sweeping and cleaning the dust from the street, across from her house, with total dedication and love.

10:15 Hawarra checkpoint. No delays in traffic.  We learned something new today:  the piece of the road from the checkpoint in the direction of the DCO and all the way to Awarta is open for Palestinian cars.  A taxi driver explained that it is allowed to travel up to the turnoff to Awarta only.  The rest is forbidden for Palestinian travel.  For example, Beit Furik to Awarta is closed.  The Awarta checkpoint is closed.

10:30  Beit Furik checkpoint. To our surprise, there were soldiers on the road who checked cars very carefully at the exit and entrance in the direction of Nablus.  Cars opened their hoods, and they checked a tractor from every direction.  A short line of vehicles, only one lane open for inspection, either entering or exiting.

 11:30  Tapuach checkpoint. A lot of vehicles, no delays.  2 soldiers look at the vehicles, but don't stop them, during the time we were there.  We continued toward the village of Tapuach to see the road.  Up to Tapuach, the road is nice, 2 lanes and well marked.  One meter after the turnoff to Tapuach, the road ends.  For all of the Palestinian villages from there on - Yasuf, Iskaka, and the large Salfit - there is an altogether different sort of road.