Problems at Agricultural Gates

Translator: Charles K.

5:55 – 8:10

“The female soldier sorted us as if we were tomatoes” (Shaked-Tura checkpoint)

A’anin checkpoint – 5:55 – On our way to the checkpoint we met laborers going to work. The checkpoint is quiet and the laborers go through without problems. We were told that about 100 people cross today, but that not all the family members of the farmers who own the olive trees have received permits for the harvest. So we see many women leaving by themselves to pick olives, without the male members of their family! We saw a handicapped woman, none of whose family members had received a permit, going to pick olives with hired laborers.

A resident who owns 15 olive trees next to the security road came over to us. Last year he didn’t receive a permit to pick (he did receive one two years ago), and this year he hasn’t yet received an answer and the olives are already ripe.

Reihan checkpoint – 6:30 – Many laborers from the West Bank who’ve already come through the checkpoint wait on the sidewalks for their rides to work. Ten minivans wait to take laborers to Barta’a.

B. complained that on Saturday afternoon the rate at which people went back through the checkpoint was particularly slow. Sometimes it’s also very slow in the morning, according to him because the security staff working in the terminal talk on the phone to each other, and when they do people don’t go through.

Cars carrying passengers cross quickly to the West Bank, 1-2 minutes.

People coming out of the terminal today say that the crossing goes quickly.

Seven pickup trucks loaded with agricultural produce wait to be inspected in the lower parking lot, eight others are already in the closed inspection area. A. tells us, “Everything’s normal, not much work.”

Next to the vehicle checkpoint there’s a lot of activity involving Israeli buses. Elementary school pupils from Shaked and Hinanit change cars on their way to school in the territories, high school students from Hermesh and Dothan change buses on their way to school in Israel.

7:05 - When we left, 12 people were waiting higher up for cars still being inspected in the closed area.

Shaked checkpoint 7:15 – During the olive harvest, the checkpoint is supposed to open at 6 AM, but each morning there’s some problem (today there was a problem with the gate key) and it only opens at 6:30. People and vehicles cross in both directions. About 50 men, women and children wait on the West Bank side next to the revolving gate. Schools are closed for the olive harvest and the children join their parents in the groves. Those coming through tell us they arrived at 5 AM to get a place on line, but when the checkpoint opened the female soldier arbitrarily sorted and chose who should go through, “as if she were choosing tomatoes.”

7:30 – We hear excited telling from the line that isn’t getting any shorter. People stop entering the checkpoint. A soldier with drawn weapon “restores order” and people begin going through again. Those coming out complain that the inspection room is working very slowly, “people are let in one at a time.” About seven people have been sitting a waiting a long time next to the revolving gate – apparently they haven’t yet been sorted by the female soldier.

At 7:50 we met three women with children at the exit from the checkpoint. They had arrived at the checkpoint at 6:30 and came through an hour and twenty minutes later. Now they’re waiting for the men, the first of whom exited only at 8:15. It will already be very hot by the time they reach their olive grove, located near Umm Reihan. They’ve lost three valuable hours of work. They told us about one farmer who wasn’t allowed to work today because his permit expires the day after tomorrow. They leave the olives they pick on site and are allowed to transport them home only in a special vehicle with a permit, for a price.

A Day of Olive Picking at the Olive Grove of Ma'aruf Zaharan near Qalqiliya

Translation: Hanna K.

It was a pleasant Saturday, with the sun concealed behind autumn clouds. We arrived in the area by bus through the "Olive Coalition" and split to help two families.

The Olive Grove of Ma'aruf Zaharan was organized for our arrival. Plastic sheets ("Shada") were already spread between the trees with plastic rakes.

The trees were olive laden. The grove is watered by pierced irrigation pipes from a water source that supplies good drinking water which serves also the local agriculture. In the agricultural area of Qalqiliya there are many water wells. Zaharan's grove was planted in 2000 when the traffic was allowed for Palestinians. It is a grove of 220 trees on an area of 6 dunams. In 2002 the permit regime began, and with it came the problems.

Zaharan was mayor of Qalqiliya till 2005 and now serves as deputy minister of the interior at the Palestinian Authority and works at Ramallah during the week.

In the course of the morning we were invited for a meal at the water well, to the noise of the water pump. In our honor a table with a traditional breakfast was laid.

During a break we asked Zaharan about the problems the farmers at Qalqiliya and the Seam Zone are faced with.

1.Non dispensation of permits. Permits are given only to the owner of the land and perhaps to two members of the family. Sometimes the elders are not capable of work.

2. Opening times of the agricultural gates. The Tzufin gate is opened for half an hour in the morning – 06:45-07:15 and is opened again too early for half an hour 16:30-17:00. These hours don't permit enough time for acricultural work.

In many case the soldiers arrive late and the Palestinians wait for an hour or two.

Many of the complains are about the opening of the gates. Avi from the brigade promised to Zaharan to open the gate for 20 hours. That was 3 months ago but nothing happened. The farmers organized a protest demonstration, to no avail.

3. Transfer of tools for water purification. There are no authorizations for the transfer although there are funds for this.

4. Transfer of fuel by tanker. One has to transfer it in barrels with donkeys.
5. Boars.  A few years ago somebody brought boars from the Golan to the area. The wild boars harm the vegetable areas, and the Palestinians are unable to hunt them.

What are his memories as a child?

His father used to take him to their agricultural areas and there they would work the soil and grow vegetable. He had a bee-hive and the exported the honey to the Arab countries, when all was open.

What are his concerns? Zaharn in his capacity meets many Israelis and he has many friends. His relations with Ya'akov Manor date from the nineties.

According to him if there is no solution to the negotiations now, there is danger of a violent outburst in the area. This will be initiated by the extremists. He expressed concern about the young educated people leaving the West Bank, as they lack opportunities. He is concerned about what despair and hopelessness will cause…His dream is to finish the cycle of violence, that there be peace between the two states, open borders and the build up of  trust. We asked about his sons who were with us. He has sent both to workshops with young Israelis in Germany. All his children study at universities, including his wife. His son Mahmud (24) studies political science at Abu Dis, dreams to reach the….sea. Was there the last time 5 years ago.  Aspires to build his home at Ramallah. Hopes to find work at the Authority.

In the end Zaharan told us about the arrest of his young son this summer. The army detains people all the time, even Fatah people. Curfew in the middle of the night and then release…just like that, pass a message…In the summer he and his wife were in Turkey, and he got a phone call that the army entered his house at night and destroyed things while carrying out a search…In the end they found a rifle which the Authority had given him for self defence, in his bedroom. As a result they detained his young son (17) for a week. The son returned traumatized.

Translator:  Charles K.

Habla 7:25

“Fi mushkela” (there are problems today), a female farmer riding a donkey cart called to us…About a hundred people crowded around Habla’s wretched agricultural gate.  Soldiers tried to push the gate closed, to control the crowd.  They allowed two adult Palestinians to organize the angry line.  They admitted men in groups of five for inspection in the checkpoint’s “rooms.” 

It was like that until 8:15.  The soldiers were late opening the gate today.

Angry men went through holding their belts.  “Is there any point to all this?” they asked us.

Me, to a soldier:  When did you open it today?

Soldier A:  “What difference does it make?”

Soldier B:  “What business is it of mine?”

When a donkey cart arrives, the donkey has priority.  Some of the young people are on bicycles.  They fly flags of “Real Madrid.”

8:20  Eliyahu crossing

Khirbet Nebi Elias, Azzun, Sir, Jayyus, Kafr Jamal

We drove through the villages.  The olive harvest is at its peak.  Families in the shade of ancient olive trees.  Men shake the branches, the olives fall onto plastic sheets.  Women collect the olives in sacks.  A carriage with a baby.  There weren’t any problems with settlers at the locations we passed.  A man at the Jayyus gas station told us that yesterday they opened the gate to the harvesters at 18:00 instead of 17:00, so people had to wait after they’d finished their work day.

I was reminded of the soldiers at the Habla checkpoint:  “What difference does it make?  What business is it of mine?”

We drove to the Falamya agricultural gate.

Soldiers with nothing to do were happy to see us.  Reservists, “pained to see the difficulties imposed on the farmers.”  “But there were four attempts this week by Palestinians to go over the fence, and then the entire battalion is awakened, called out and has to pursue them.  Maybe they’re planning an attack?  By the way – two of them were children who were caught and turned over to the police.”   “That’s why the gate opens late.”  Revenge?  Catching up on sleep?

We return via Azzun.

Today there’s a hamsin.

The high-rise buildings on the horizon along the coast are veiled in smog.

13:45 –Habla

The heat is incandescent.  About ten people waiting at the entrance to the checkpoint.  The bus carrying the girls from the Bedouin village waits on the other side.  One of the people waiting tells us there’s a detainee in the inspection room, and at that moment we hear shouts from the building

Ten minutes later two soldiers come out to the gate.  One of them has his rifle drawn.  But all he wants is for the Palestinian to give him a light

Only after a few minutes it seems the person detained inside is released, and soldiers tell people to come in three at a time.  The soldiers seem to know those coming through, and generally behave politely to them

On the other hand, we hear loud and very unpleasant shouts coming from a female MP in the inspection building

Meanwhile the bus driver has come out of the building, the soldiers inspect the luggage compartment and the bus with the girls goes on its way after having waited more than half an hour.  We called the soldiers’ attention to the fact that these are small children sitting in a bus without air conditioning.  The girls wave to us

Light traffic inside, a bicyclist with a package, a tractor loaded with sacks that undergo a superficial inspection

14:20–

We continue toward Azzun, and on the way see the miserable tin huts where the girls we saw on the bus live

The yellow gate at Azzun is open; we enter and turn north under the road

Jayyus

The grocery store we use as an information center is closed today.  We stopped next to a Bedouin guy living right next to the fence.  He gave us a cold drink and we saw the fence literally below us.  His land is on the other side, about 500 meters away, where he raises sheep.  To reach his land these days he has to take a taxi to Qalqilya and go through the Zufin checkpoint.  This family is lucky.  Since he lives on his pasture land and was not listed as a resident of Jayyus, he received a permit to go daily to his lands and even sleep “in a closed military area.” (In this case – a name given to a civilian area in the “seam zone,” where people need special permission to be found on their lands).  His uncle, who’s a resident of Jayyus, wasn’t as fortunate.  From the outset – the initial route of the fence left his house and lands located completely within the seam zone.  Although he was cut off from his usual surroundings and had to go through checkpoints for medical treatment, employment, education, etc., he continued to work his land.  When the High Court of Justice ordered the fence moved farther east, his house was now east of the fence but his land remained to the west.  Since he has only a contract to purchase the land, but it isn’t registered to him in the tabu, he didn’t get a cultivation permit and lost the land.  The uncle died ten days ago.

Falamya

15:50 – The gate is open from 05:00-17:00.  People from Falamya cross, as well as those from Jayyus who have permission to do so.  The checkpoint is manned by reservists sweating in the heat, usually with nothing to do.  A few dozen people in the morning, dribs and drabs during the day.  Does this indicate the residents of Falamya received very few permits?  It’s worth finding out.  By the way, the soldiers also are against the system of permits and its consequences for the residents.

Irtach

16:15 – Well-cared-for greenery around the parking lot next to the crossing, but the lot as well as the road leading to its entrance are closed to vehicles transporting the laborers – unlike in the past, the Palestinian returning from work now get out of the vehicles about 100 meters away from the crossing itself.

There’s a gravel lot nearby, but apparently the drivers would rather not drive on the stones.  There are yellow signs everywhere reading “No photography.  Security installation.”  All of a sudden, a parking lot used only by laborers crossing has become a security facility.

The booths at the crossing aren’t manned.  The laborers go through the revolving gate and come out.

13:45 –Habla

The heat is incandescent.  About ten people waiting at the entrance to the checkpoint.  The bus carrying the girls from the Bedouin village waits on the other side.  One of the people waiting tells us there’s a detainee in the inspection room, and at that moment we hear shouts from the building

Ten minutes later two soldiers come out to the gate.  One of them has his rifle drawn.  But all he wants is for the Palestinian to give him a light

Only after a few minutes it seems the person detained inside is released, and soldiers tell people to come in three at a time.  The soldiers seem to know those coming through, and generally behave politely to them

On the other hand, we hear loud and very unpleasant shouts coming from a female MP in the inspection building

Meanwhile the bus driver has come out of the building, the soldiers inspect the luggage compartment and the bus with the girls goes on its way after having waited more than half an hour.  We called the soldiers’ attention to the fact that these are small children sitting in a bus without air conditioning.  The girls wave to us

Light traffic inside, a bicyclist with a package, a tractor loaded with sacks that undergo a superficial inspection

14:20–

We continue toward Azzun, and on the way see the miserable tin huts where the girls we saw on the bus live

The yellow gate at Azzun is open; we enter and turn north under the road

Jayyus

The grocery store we use as an information center is closed today.  We stopped next to a Bedouin guy living right next to the fence.  He gave us a cold drink and we saw the fence literally below us.  His land is on the other side, about 500 meters away, where he raises sheep.  To reach his land these days he has to take a taxi to Qalqilya and go through the Zufin checkpoint.  This family is lucky.  Since he lives on his pasture land and was not listed as a resident of Jayyus, he received a permit to go daily to his lands and even sleep “in a closed military area.” (In this case – a name given to a civilian area in the “seam zone,” where people need special permission to be found on their lands).  His uncle, who’s a resident of Jayyus, wasn’t as fortunate.  From the outset – the initial route of the fence left his house and lands located completely within the seam zone.  Although he was cut off from his usual surroundings and had to go through checkpoints for medical treatment, employment, education, etc., he continued to work his land.  When the High Court of Justice ordered the fence moved farther east, his house was now east of the fence but his land remained to the west.  Since he has only a contract to purchase the land, but it isn’t registered to him in the tabu, he didn’t get a cultivation permit and lost the land.  The uncle died ten days ago.

Falamya

15:50 – The gate is open from 05:00-17:00.  People from Falamya cross, as well as those from Jayyus who have permission to do so.  The checkpoint is manned by reservists sweating in the heat, usually with nothing to do.  A few dozen people in the morning, dribs and drabs during the day.  Does this indicate the residents of Falamya received very few permits?  It’s worth finding out.  By the way, the soldiers also are against the system of permits and its consequences for the residents.

Irtach

16:15 – Well-cared-for greenery around the parking lot next to the crossing, but the lot as well as the road leading to its entrance are closed to vehicles transporting the laborers – unlike in the past, the Palestinian returning from work now get out of the vehicles about 100 meters away from the crossing itself.

There’s a gravel lot nearby, but apparently the drivers would rather not drive on the stones.  There are yellow signs everywhere reading “No photography.  Security installation.”  All of a sudden, a parking lot used only by laborers crossing has become a security facility.

The booths at the crossing aren’t manned.  The laborers go through the revolving gate and come out.

Translation: Suzanne O. 

Summary:  At Artach many people are detained for long periods and the number of those coming to us with complaints is greater than ever.

Artach

We were told that the facility opened at 4:00 a.m.

4:30 a.m.

The sound of a loud tumult rises the nearer one gets to the entrance.  They admit people for 3 minutes – 20 people a minute – and then there is an interval of 5 minutes, during which no one is admitted.

Each opening of the turnstile and the admittance of a few people (the estimate of the queue is 3,000 we are told later) causes chaos, pushing and shouting, someone described it as being like a war.

4:50 a.m.

About 50 people are admitted, and again chaos erupts while the queue is reorganised.

At the exit from the facility tens of people approach us and their main complaint is the long wait in the rooms.

Some of them waited for three quarters of an hour in the rooms, and someone said he had waited even longer.

The door was closed in the face of one of the labourers, he was hurt, he cried out in pain and shock, perhaps also from anger and insult, and for this he was punished by shouts and a wait of three quarters of an hour.

We were also told that there are very few guards/inspectors inside, that they are dealt with at a snail's pace and that the female inspectors are half asleep and their behaviour is insulting and humiliating.

Quote: "You are going too far, there can be no peace this way".

We were told that two days ago, in the queue at the entrance, because of the pressure and the pushing a concrete pillar was overturned and several people were hurt.

Again there were complaints about late opening (at 5:00 a.m.) on Fridays.

A labourer who sometimes crosses the Ayal roadblock says that the wait in the rooms here is much longer which is confirmed later by people at Ayal.

Another labourer said that no officers, or anyone in authority who can be approached in case of problems, are available at the facility.

We left feeling strongly that the treatment of the labourers is deteriorating and that we have nowhere to take this disgrace.

Ayal crossing

5:30 a.m. 

The labourers say that it is OK today.  Good.  No one came to us with complaints.

We saw that the turnstile got stuck twice and went to ask for it to be opened up again.

We moved to where we can see the entrance to the facility from the eastern side.  There is a huge awning to provide shelter from rain and sun for those in the queue.  The labourers march in line along the fence, patiently; there is no pushing or pressure, perhaps because there are people responsible for organising the queue.

How can we make this happen at Artach?

The maximum waiting time in the rooms: 15 minutes.

Can this be raised with the administration:  there is a difference of 4 times the waiting time between the facilities!

6:15 a.m.

We took another look at the entrance to the facility, without any hindrance from the guards, and we saw very few people.  They walk in a leisurely fashion to the entrance.  There is no pressure.  There is no chaos, a totally different picture from the one at Artach.

Sha'ar Chabala

6:40 a.m. 

We were told that it opened at 6:30 a.m.  Five people at a time cross.  The inspection time in the hut is approximately 2 minutes.

A school bus (from Ramadin) coming from the Israeli side is stopped in front of the crossing.  The driver alights, waits for the soldiers to signal him to come over to them.  The soldiers inspect ID cards, keep them, and the driver returns to his vehicle, takes it across the gate, and then stops.  A soldier with a weapon at the ready gets on the bus for an inspection.  He alights with 3 pupils and a teacher (females) - each one with a head covering, they are taken to be inspected in the hut.  Did their head coverings make him suspicious?  They are released after a few minutes, the driver gets the ID cards back and the vehicle can cross.

A reserve officer gets us to move away, claiming that it is a closed military area!  They are polite to the Palestinians (a small blessing).

The labourers tell us that some of them work on Alfei Menasheh.  A young man tells us that he works picking his olives in his grove near Alfei Menasheh, he says that the yield is excellent this year!  He told us that sometimes a labourer goes to water the field – it takes a short time, but afterwards he is stuck at the roadblock and has to wait hours in order to get back, the second opening time is some 7 hours later. 

Translation: Bracha B.A.

15:05 – A'anin
Soldiers are already at the checkpoint.  The gate opened at 15:07.  There are three tractors and six people near the gate – the same people who left in the morning.  The routine of the olive harvest has begun but many of the farmers have not yet received permits to enter the seamline zone and others did not know of the possibility of going out to the olive groves on Sunday.   One farmer told us that the Palestinian contacts reject requests for permits and tell them "Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow."  One of the tractor drivers complains about the Bedouin who steal olives from his grove.

At 15:20 the soldiers prepare to close the gate.  During the olive harvest it will remain open until 16:30.

15:30 – Shaked-Tura

A few cars drive through quickly in both directions.
A 60-year old farmer from Yabed who has 500 olive trees tells us that there are no permits for children and grandchildren to work in the harvest, which is due to begin October 15^th.  The requests for permits are held up somewhere between the Yabed Municipality and the Palestinian contacts and Salem.

15:55 – Reihan Barta'a
There are a few cars in the upper parking lot.  An Israeli contractor who brought workers to the checkpoint says that one of them has been working for him for 15 years, and asks us to do something so that people will be allowed to come through Reihan Checkpoint in the morning.  At 16:00 the gate to the vehicle inspection facility opens, and four cars drive out.  Six cars are waiting to enter the inspection facility.
Workers who came through Ephraim gate in the morning said that the situation there was awful.

At 16:30 there are about 20 people waiting in front of the turnstile.  We hear shouting inside the terminal and after about 7 minutes an elderly man comes out leaning on a cane.  He is angry and is the one who was shouting.  He has just been released from the hospital and they want him to go through the X-ray machine again and again.  He refused.  He already went through the machine, already lifted his shirt.  What more do they want?  He uttered a colorful curse and left.

Workers pass through the terminal within 7 minutes after they arrive.  Five people who were in Israel illegally are waiting on the bench for five minutes and then enter the terminal.  A man with an oxygen mask and his wife are waiting on the bench for someone to pick them up.

Natanya translating.

Jubara 14.45
 The commander arrived and without questions or explanations opened the gate for us.
14.50 Gate 754 (the Childrens’ gate).

Few people passed. When we tried to go through to Sur and the surroundings the soldiers made a phone call to see if they should let us through and received a negative answer.  We had to go around through Jubara.
Abu Hatam came to greet us and was disappointed that we do not smoke and that we had no cigarettes to offer him.
15.10 Izbat Shufa.  We went through the Avne Khefetz (a settlement)  to the checkpoint which divides the village of Izbat Shufa from the village of Shufa. People were waiting for a taxi to their destination. We tried to speak to the DCo but there was no answer even though the same morning there had been and it had been promised that they would deal with the opening of the gate at least during the period of the olive harvest.  The matter has not been dealt with and it is worthwhile to check.

15.25 Anabta. There was no a single soldier at the checkpoint –it seems that all were in the sentry posts. The traffic flowed.
From there we went to Deir Sharaf. Life there seemed completely normal. We spoke to the grocery owner who said that all was well.

16.20 Azzun – the entrance is open.
 

16.45 Habla. We met Omer who asked us to deal with matters regarding work permits. At the checkpoint 40 people were waiting. They went in groups of 5.

17.15 We left

06:40  The Eliyahu gate is empty.

06:45  Habla.  Two buses at the crossing.  The first is turned back because its permit doesn’t specify this checkpoint.  The second goes through.  Some calls to the DCO, and at 07:20 the first also goes through, but not before two mothers who wanted a ride have to get off.  In the background, laborers who are angry at the delays are being “educated.”

Photo:  Means of transportation

Photo:  “Education”

Photo:  The Holy Trinity:  A driver, a believer and an officer

07:50  A group of Bedouin pupils arrives on foot as we are leaving; we make sure they get through safely.

08:00  The Eliyahu crossing is empty.

08:15  On our way to Jayyous north we meet John, one of the ecumenicals, who complains about misleading information regarding the time the gate opens – it’s already closed.

08:25  Jayyous south.  Stella, one of the ecumenicals, complains of a delay opening the gate.  We drive there.  They also complain about misleading information regarding the opening times.  There are two shepherds and their flocks, and three farmers.  A few minutes later the army vehicle arrives, and after a few minutes getting organized the people cross.  A talk with Stella reveals a bleak picture – 80 applications submitted for the olive harvest, in the hope that twenty will be approved.  She says the number of approvals declines every year.  Maybe, before October, it’s worth contacting the DCOs systematically to investigate what’s happening?

Translation:  Suzanne O.

Summary:  We drove along Road 574 and went in to the villages.  The main complaint:  owners of land on the other side of the separation fence can't work their fields because of the agricultural permits regime.  For the villages whose main livelihood is from agriculture, this is a death blow.

The commander at Gate 753 in Jebara sent us by the road into Tulkarm.

A soldier, a native of Karnei Shomron, thinks that we are plunging a knife into the nation's back.

Chabala

7:10 a.m. 

The school bus crosses the gate; we are told that it has been held up for a long time.  Palestinians exiting sound embittered.  One of them says in Hebrew: "It's better to die than to live like this".  Others say that they have waited hours for the gate to open.  A shepherd and his herd cross.  From a distance it appears to us that there is crowding at the gate because the Palestinians cannot maintain order.

We approach the soldier at the checkpoint and he immediately attacks: "Is there nowhere for you to volunteer rather than sticking a knife in our backs?"  He is from Karnei Shomron.  A useless conversation ensues.  He sees us as worse enemies than the Palestinians and wants to know if we are in the pay of Hamas.

The crossings continue slowly.

7:40 a.m.

We go towards the Bedouin village of Araba-Ramadin to give out the parcels that Rina has brought.  A woman asks if we have school satchels.

Eliahu crossing

7:50 a.m. 

It is open and the traffic flows.  Some of the labourers who work in Karnei Shomron are still waiting by the gate for inspection.

8:00 a.m.

We went into Sir and stop by a family sitting on the pavement by their house.  A conversation develops:  they have a problem with agricultural permits to work their land on the other side of the fence.  They have a relative in Jius village who owns a grove on the other side of the fence.  He is old and it is hard for him to work his land so he is forced to lease it to someone from Kalkilya, but is concerned that they are not working it efficiently.  He is under pressure to sell to the person from Kalkilya but he is sure that in this way the land will pass into Jewish hands.  His sons have not received permits to cross the gate.  Another difficulty is that wild boars are destroying the irrigation pipes.

In the main the village is profitable.  The Authority has built a new road and a secondary school.  Half of the village residents work abroad and send money home.  A housewife comes out with a tray of coffee.  Her husband tells us that in 2005 his nephew, a student in Nejach, was arrested at Beit Iba roadblock, handcuffed and put in a cell in the sun: he got heat stroke and died.

Jius

8:35 a.m. 

We stop by the grocery shop whose owner spent years in Saudi Arabia and he speaks English.  From him we hear that two young men were arrested in the village last night, aged 22 and 25.  He doesn't know the reason.  He is 54 years old, he worked for years in Israel and would like to visit the places he knew but he cannot get a permit.

He tries to contact someone who speaks biblical Hebrew, reads and translates poetry and literature, by telephone.  His name is M. S., a name we must know.  Unfortunately there is no reply.

Palmia roadblock

9:00 a.m. 

Gate no. 927 is open.  We are told that it opened late this morning, at 5:25 instead of 5:15 a.m.  Two soldiers are in the peripheral checkpoint, eating their breakfast and they happily talk to us.  The gate is supposed to be open continuously for 12 hours from 5:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.  In the past reservists were stationed here and they did not open the gate on time so the residents turned to the High Court.  After the High Court verdict regular soldiers were stationed here and the gate opened on time.

9:20 a.m.

We drive up to Palmia village by a narrow, winding dirt road.  We stop for a chat with the owner of the grocery shop.  He complains that business is bad.  The residents' lands are on the other side of the fence and they can't get permits.  He works the well and is responsible for sharing the water out.  Mekorot allocates 175,000 cubes of water for the whole village.  Many of them are forced to rent out their lands because they are getting old and can't get permits for labourers to work the land.

Education:  children go to school until they are 15 years old.  Further education takes place elsewhere.  University graduates and professionals usually go to work in the Emirates.

9:50 a.m.

We drove via Jemal and Sur villages.

A-Ras

10:00 a.m. 

We arrived at the school just as it was break time.  The pupils are in the playground in their uniforms, eating pita.

We met the head teacher and the mayor and his deputy who had come to visit.  They claim that Jebara gate causes a lot of problems because quite often it doesn't open on time and the children are forced to wait over an hour in the school bus.  Each pupil has a crossing permit plus a photocopy of their father's ID card.

Meanwhile we are served with sweetened tea.  There are 250 pupils in the village and for the first time 16 pupils are taking matriculation exams; 5 girls and 11 boys.

Pressing problems:  there are not enough permits to work the village lands on the other side of the separation fence and there are many people refused entry by the Shabak who cannot get permits.  An elderly man enters the room and tells us that no one from his family can get a permit (even his 80 year old father is refused by the Shabak).  I give him a MachsomWatch card.

Jebara

10:25 a.m. 

Gate 753 (the northern gate) is open.

The soldiers refuse to let us through.  Rina gets out the permit from the General in Command.  The commander goes to telephone his superiors.

Meanwhile a number of vehicles behind us are held up.  A pick up truck loaded up with grocery produce crosses.  We are refused.  The roadblock commander sends us to the road leading to Tulkarm (the one which goes under Road 557).  In effect he sends us into Area A.  He says we will be allowed to cross via Te'enim Crossing.  Nadim confirms that during Ramadan the crossing to Tulkarm was open to Israelis.

Te'enim Crossing

10:40 a.m. 

The gate in the direction of Tulkarm is closed.  From afar a soldier motions to us that there is no entry.  We contact Tami Cohen who says that she will check with the brigade commander.  Meanwhile the roadblock commander, a second lieutenant, realises that we are from MachsomWatch and he goes to bring the key, he also says that we can enter Jebara via the gate opposite.

Jebara

11:00 a.m. 

We do a short tour of the village and shop at the local grocer's.

11:25 a.m.

Back to the locked gate, waiting for the soldier to come with the key.

11:40 a.m.

Together with Abu Roatem, the owner of the solitary house and 2 women who are with him, we cross the gate and drive on to Road 444 back to Kfar Sava.