Burin (Yitzhar)

Translation:  Suzanne O.

After a number of days of heavy rain everything is green and muddy.

Azzun Atma

6:30 a.m. 

The queue is crowded but not long.  The Military Police run the roadblock with a heavy hand.

6:40 a.m. 

On the road leading to the agricultural gate there are many sheep.

Shomron Crossing

There is no police presence at the exit from Israel.

Za'tara/Tapuach

7:05 a.m. 

There are no soldiers at the checkpoint.  A soldier observes from the position at the corner of the road leading to the JordenValley.

Yitzhar/Borin roadblocks

There is no military activity.  A huge puddle prevents the use of the area.

Beit Furik

7:45 a.m. 

At the entrance to the village there is no snap roadblock.  There is also no military activity at the 'permanent' Beit Furik roadblock.

Awarta

The yellow iron barrier still prevents any traffic from crossing.

Huwwara roadblock

7:55 a.m. 

We didn't see any soldiers.  On the road up to Bracha a soldier guards a settler waiting for a lift.  At the position opposite the hitchhikers' station a soldier guards a female settler hitchhiker.

Borin/Yitzhar

There is no military activity.

Za'tara/Tapuach

8:05 a.m. 

There are no soldiers in the position.

Shomron Crossing

The usual superficial inspection. 

Translator: Hanna K

Following the rain and the cold, the almond trees are already blooming and they do not hide the election posters of Feiglin.

06:30 Azzun Atma: The overpopulated queue reaches "only" the edge of the fenced-in zone. The workmen complain that they had to wait for a long time in the queue. Some of them left the Hebronarea at dawn and came to work in the juncture area. Others told us that they were detained for a long time at the entrance to the village, and only the intervention of a high-rank officer who arrived on the spot urged the soldiers on. Did anybody get an explanation why it is necessary to check with such meticulousness at the entrance to the village? How does this protect Israel's security?

06:40 A lively traffic of pedestrians on the road leading to the agricultural gate.

06:42 Shomron crossing:There is no police at the exit from Israel.

06:55 Za'tara/Tapuah: there are no soldiers at the checking posts

Yitzhar/Burin CPs:  There is no military activity.

07:30 Beit Furik: At the entrance to the village there is no flying CP.  At the "permanent" Beit Furik CP too there is no military activity.

Awarta: The yellow arm still prevents the passage.

07:40 at the Huwwara CPwe didn't see any soldiers. We tried to inquire whether there were soldiers on the tower - we didn't hear a generator and only the emergency lighting is on. The soldier standing on the road to Beraha settlement said that he assumed that there were soldiers there. We didn't see any soldier at the post opposite the hitch hikers' station.

Burin/Yitzhar: A military vehicles at the bay coming down from Yitzhar causes a delay in the traffic. It is a kind of flying CP.

08:00Za'tara /Tapuah: There are no soldiers at the post.

At the Shomron crossing  the checking is as usual superficial.

 Natanya translating

When there are no permanent checkpoints there are rolling checkpoints.

6.25 Azzun Atma. An innovation at the checkpoint. After months of complaints about the lack of shelter - a kind of an enormous tent covers the checking area as protection against sun and rain. But only there, over the heads of the Palestinians who are waiting in queues nothing has been built. A long line stretches out there and the drivers say that they have been waiting about an hour for their workers. There are reservists and a captain present but they do nothing to shorten the line of those waiting but adding a soldier who can register by hand. The soldiers say that it is not terrible that the workers are waiting in line because they would in any case have had to wait for their transport……

6.45 The Shomron crossing.  No blue police presence at the exit from Israel. At the entrance to Israel is more careful checking than usual.

The entrance of Marda and Zeita is open.

Za’tara/Tapuach.There are no soldiers at the checkpoint post but in spite of that the drivers go slower and there seems to be an interference with the traffic.

Burin/Yitzhar checkpoints.  No army activity.

7.10 Beit Furik.  At the entrance to the village there is again this week a rolling checkpoint. A group of soldiers have spread out a road's spikes and the traffic stands mainly at the exit of the village.  We counted 50.The soldiers tell us that this is the way it should be. We spoke to the DCO and they said that they would check if this checkpoint was necessary.  About 10 minutes later when we left the village we saw that the road's spikes had been removed and the soldiers and the line of cars had disappeared. 

At the “permanent” checkpoint at Beit Furikthere was no army activity

Awarta.The yellow bar still prevents the passage.

7.45 Huwwara checkpoint.No soldiers. 2 soldiers block the ascent to Bracha settlement. We did not see a soldier at the post opposite the hitching site.

Burin/Yitzhar  No army vehicle.

8.10 Za’tara/Tapuach.No soldiers at the posts.

 Shomron crossing.  A superficial check.

Translator:  Charles K.

Not a pleasant day, long queues and flying checkpoints

06:15 As we left Ramat Hasharon, we already encountered an Israeli police checkpoint.  It’s not clear why – maybe in the name of equality.

06:25 Azzun Atma:  A long, long line.  Reservists and MP’s who don’t make much effort to shorten it by assigning a soldier to register people by hand.  Instead, the focus on physically inspecting those leaving and their bags of food.  In response to our question, they explain that these people are likely to attack with knives.  When we asked when was the last time a terror attack occurred at Azzun Atma, of course they couldn’t give us an answer.

At the checkpoint we ran into Nura and Hanna, who were taking a different route.

No Israeli police at the Shomron crossingexit from Israel.

The entrances to Marda and Zeita are open.

Za’tara/Tapuach:  Soldiers in the inspection booths, but traffic isn’t impeded.

Yitzhar/Burin checkpoints:  No military activity.

07:10  Huwwara checkpoint plaza – A group of soldiers moving into their positions (at the entrance to the Bracha settlement and opposite the hitchhiking station).

07:20  Beit Furik:  A flying checkpoint at the entrance to the village this week as well.  Soldiers set up a spike barrier; traffic stopped in both directions.  We try to bypass the line, like the settlers do, to ask the soldiers why the delay, but they made us get back into the line and wait patiently like the other residents.  Meanwhile, dozens of additional cars arrive from both directions.  A taxi tries to turn around and return to the village.  We couldn’t hear why, because we were too far away.  We telephoned the humanitarian office, the DCO and the Ministry of Defense; they said nothing could be done.

07:50  We left the village and saw the checkpoint had been dismantled, the soldiers had disappeared, and so did the line.

Awarta:  The yellow iron bar still prevents free passage.

08:00  Huwwara checkpoint -  No soldiers.  A soldier blocks the road up to Bracha settlemrnt.

Burin/Yitzhar:  A military vehicle parked in the parking bay, but doesn’t interfere.

 08:20  Za’tara/Tapuach:  No soldiers in position.  A military vehicle in the parking lot but we didn’t see it interfering with Palestinians.

At the Shomron crossing, we’re asked to open the trunk.

Translator:  Charles K.

An unusual day, because of, or despite, the holiday.

06:30  Azzun Atma:  An unusual sight greeted us when we arrived at the checkpoint:  three handcuffed young men, blindfolded with strips of flannel, lying behind two plastic barriers.  The solitary soldier guarding the checkpoint reports they’d been brought by a group of soldiers who’d caught them nearby trying to cut the fence.  They’ve been waiting more than an hour for the police, who are taking their time arriving.

 The soldier told us he had to blindfold them so they couldn’t escape.  He’s there alone, except for the MP.  Where are the other soldiers?  You won’t believe this:  there are fleas in the guard tower so they’ve reduced the number of soldiers stationed here.

The line is very long,even though the holiday hasn’t ended and we wouldn’t have expected people to be going to work.  Apparently the need to make a living takes precedence.

No police present at the Shomron crossing for people leaving Israel.

The entrances to Marda and Zeita are open.

 Za’tara/Tapuach:  One male and one female soldier in the inspection booths, but traffic isn’t delayed.

 Yitzhar/Burin checkpoint:  No military activity.

07:10  Driving up Har Bracha:  The soldier inspects Palestinian cars driving up the hill.

A military vehicle parked at the entrance to Itamar.

07:20  Beit Furik:  A flying checkpoint at the entrance to the village.  Soldiers set up a spike barrier; traffic is stopped on both sides.  We bypass the line and try to find out from the soldiers the reason for the delay.  They simply don’t understand the question.  We were told in the village that this happens routinely, from time to time.  We asked the DCO, who told us they knew about the checkpoint.  The checkpoint was still there when we left the village, but almost none of the vehicles leaving were being checked.

Awarta:  The yellow barrier arm still prevents free passage.

07:45  No soldiers at the Huwwara checkpoint.

Burin/Yizhar:  No military activity.

08:25  Za’tara/Tapuach:  No soldiers in the positions.  Traffic police in the parking lot, but we don’t see them bothering the Palestinians.

At the Shomron crossing we’re asked where we’re from (Ramat Hasharon, we answered), and a policewoman asked us to open the trunk.

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Translation:  Suzanne O.

Azzun Atma

6:30 a.m. 

The queue of labourers is not too long.  Reservists, who only got here yesterday, get those queuing through speedily.  A Military Policeman as well as two policewomen in the kiosks note down ID numbers.

Shomron Crossing

There is no civilian police presence at the exit from Israel.

The entrances to Marda and Zeita are open

Za'tara/Tapuach roadblock

There are soldiers in the checkpoints but no hindrance to the traffic.

There are few cars on the road. 

A military vehicle observes the entrance to Beita.

Burin/Yitzhar roadblocks

There is no military activity.

Beit Furic

7:35 a.m. 

There are no soldiers at the roadblock and the traffic flows unhindered.

There is a military vehicle at the entrance to the settlement of Itamar and the soldiers seem to be taking a nap.

Awarta

The yellow barrier still blocks the traffic from crossing freely.

Huwwara roadblock

7:45 a.m. 

There are no soldiers, one soldier stands on the road up to the settlement of Bracha and another one is in the position opposite the hitch hikers' station.

Za'tara/Tapuach

8:00 a.m. 

A female soldier staffs the positions.  There is no interference with the traffic.

Shomron Crossing

At the entrance to Israel there is the usual superficial inspection.

06:20  'Azzun Atma south – Dozens of people (about 100) waiting beyond the checkpoint for their rides to work.  About 100 people on line at the checkpoint.  People go through quickly, 20 in about five minutes.  Occasionally the MP emerges, looks through someone’s belongings, and returns to his position.  Women go through the vehicle lane and then immediately move on to have their documents checked.  A man with a donkey cart arrives; the gate opens for him.  The children trickling in from the area south of the fence, on their way to school in 'Azzun 'Atma, also go through the vehicle gate.  A man coming from 'Azzun 'Atma goes through the vehicle gate to his home, explaining he lives here – south of the gate – and it’s up to the shift commander.  Sometimes they let him get home quickly, and sometimes send him to wait in line half an hour like everyone else.

07:30  Ariel, eastern gate

We decided to try to reach olive harvesters at the Ariel gates.  We followed the DCO here.  An extended family arrives in a car, men, women and children, park in the lot outside the gate, where some cars are already parked.  The DCO came to authorize their entry through the gate and into Ariel.  He lets them in; they walk with a ladder on the security road to harvest their grove, which is in Ariel.  They’ll bring out all the olives at one time, when they finish picking.  More Palestinians arrive, are inspected at the gate after waiting briefly and go through to work in Ariel.

We wanted to see how to reach the Ariel gates, but the DCO says we can’t get there because we’d have to walk along the security fence.  Maybe we have to look for a way to the groves from within the village, between the houses.  He said we wouldn’t be able to get to them by car from Marda either, but maybe we could reach them from within Marda, with the locals’ help.

On the way to Salfit from Ariel the road is very wide, with wide shoulders and guard rails on the side – that’s what we need in Israel.  Farther along Highway 60 there are garbage bags every few meters and laborers cleaning the roadside, a scene that continued all along Highway 60, at least until Sara.  When we returned to Israel we didn’t see roads that had been cleaned up by hand - plastic bags and refuse were everywhere.  On the way down from Ariel was a small settlement, in trailers – Nofei Nehama – signs at the entrance inviting people to come live in that wonderful location, etc.

07:50  Tapuach junction

Many signs on the fence around the parking lot, “Beinish – have you murdered and also inherited – Giv’at Assaf,” and “Change is up to us – Giv’at Assaf.”  No soldiers at the crossing, but people driving through slow down because of the road humps, and perhaps because they expect soldiers to suddenly appear.

08:10  Yitzhar junction

Two policemen check documents of people coming from the direction of Jit junction.  We don’t see any soldiers at the Huwwara checkpoint, except for a pillbox, but soldiers stand on the road up to Mt. Gerizim, and it’s partly blocked.

We continue to Highway 60 toward Jit junction.

08:40  The entrance to Sara

A Hummer, the exit road partly blocked by a spike strip, soldiers checking documents of cars leaving, a short line occasionally forms but is gone quickly.  They leave five minutes later.

09:15  Eliyahu gate – The landscaping around the parking lot continues to improve – we’re here to stay, is what that tells me.  Kennels for dogs next to the parking lot; I hadn’t seen them before.  It’s not clear whether they’re for guarding or for looking for explosives.  They were very loud when we tried to approach them, and we were told, of course, not to go near.  A Palestinian woman went through the pedestrian crossing very quickly.  In the inspection parking lot Israeli Arabs underwent inspection – now, when there’s no congestion, inspection is relatively rapid, two inspectors checking each car.

We also drove onto the road to Wadi Rasha to see what the gate looks like.  Everything is blocked, but these aren’t the hours when it’s open.  We weren’t able to see where people leaving to pick olives (if anyone does so) are bound for.

Translation:  Suzanne O.

A small change in the plan – a friendly visit to the palace built on the borders of Beit Furik

Shomron Crossing

6:30 a.m. 

There is no civilian police presence at the exit from Israel.

The entrances to Marda and Zeita are open.

Za'tara/Tapuach

We saw no soldiers at the checkpoints or in the position opposite the roundabout.  There were few cars at the top of the road.

A military vehicle drives through the streets of Huwwara.

Yitzhar/Burin roadblocks

There is no military activity.

6:58 a.m.

On the way to Huwwara roadblock there is a flying checkpoint:  a military vehicle has stopped a car for questioning on the shoulder of the road.

Awarta

The yellow barrier is still barring the crossing to Nablus.

We stop in Beit Furik to pay our respects in the house which has just been completed at the entrance to the village.  It is many storied and particularly ornate.  It has a swimming pool, a lodge for security people and a very large fruit orchard.  The owner was born in Beit Furik and his wife (his first wife) was born in Nablus.  Their daughters are at home including the eldest who is on a visit with their first grandchild.  It all represents a comfortable lifestyle and a good life.

Beit Furik

7:40 a.m. 

There are no soldiers at the roadblock and the traffic flows unhindered.

Huwwara roadblock

7:45 a.m. 

There are no soldiers at the roadblock itself but now a soldier is positioned along the road to the settlement Bracha and another one opposite the hitchhikers' station.  There is something new:  the area around the old car park and the pedestrian checkpoints has been cleared of all the weeds and rubbish which had accumulated there.  Is the intention to re-start the roadblock or is it just readying the area for the coming rainy season?

On the way to Borin there is a flying roadblock and the owner of a car is being inspected, there was no way we could tell if it was the same car that we saw before.

Burin/Yitzhar

There is no military activity.

Za'tara/Tapuach

8:20 a.m. 

Soldiers (not Border Police) staff the checkpoint, they do not hold up the traffic.

Azzun Atma

8:40 a.m. 

Because of the late hour there are no Palestinians at all at the road block.  According to the Military Policeman it had been a particularly difficult morning because one of the computers is being repaired.  There had been a queue of hundreds crowded up against the turnstile which impeded it from working properly.  A young armoured corps soldier staffed the position beside him.

At Shomron Crossing the inspection was superficial as usual. 

Natanya translating.

 September 1^st2011. This is the last day of Eid Il-fiter for the Palestinianthe and the first school day for the settlers. There is a lot of army on the roads.

6.30 Azzun Atma. Only a few workers crossing the checkpoint. The soldiers have “improved” the building of the checkpoint and now there are red plastics which border the passage.

The Shomron crossing. There are no police at the Israeli exit and very few cars in either direction.

The road to Marda, Zeita and Jamma'im are open,

7.05 Za’tara/Tapuach. A vehicle connected to the Kfir unit is parking next to the traffic circle. Soldiers at each side. Border policemen at the checking posts. A Palestinian car waits for documents to be checked. Each delay causes a line of cars.

In Huwwara village main road  4 army cars patrolling.

An army car is parked at the checkpoints of Yitzhar and Burin.

A guard is on duty at the ascent to Bracha settlement. Another guard is posted opposite the hitching post.

At Itamar an army vehicle is opposite the entrance.

7.40 Beit Furik.An army vehicle is parked under the sentry tower. The soldiers are polite and explain that the reinforced army presence is because of the start of the Jewish school year.  Not in honor of the Muslim holiday.

Awarta.The iron yellow bar still blocks the entrance to Nablus.

7.50 Huwwara checkpoint. No army presence at the checkpoint.

8.10 Za’tara/Tapuach.  Little traffic and the border police hardly disturb the stream of traffic.

Translation:  Suzanne O.

It's the middle of August and at the roadblock they are already selling Baladi (local) figs.

Azzun Atma

6:25 a.m. 

There is a long queue but it's not crowded, some 40 labourers wait patiently.  There is one officer running the roadblock.  A third military policewoman stands beside the cube listing ID nos., to speed up the crossing.  The Palestinians complain that yesterday the queue was unbearably long and slow.  They asked for telephone numbers so that they can complain about the soldiers who, according to them, held up the queue purposely as punishment.

We asked a soldier who said that yesterday a group of youths came and tried to push in in front of the adults and take their places in the queue.  They came to blows resulting in chaos at the roadblock.  The soldiers closed the crossing, separated those quarrelling and got the queue back into line.  This caused a build up of labourers and a very long wait.

6:45 a.m.

The agricultural gate is locked.  There are no soldiers in the area and we didn't see any Palestinians waiting for it to open.

Shomron Crossing

6:50 a.m.

There are no civilian police at the exit from Israel.

The entrances to Marda and Zeita are open.

Za'tara/Tapuach

7:10 a.m. 

There are soldiers in the positions and also in the position opposite the roundabout.  There are almost no cars at the top of the road.

There are a number of military vehicles around Hawwara, some of them parked and some passing through.

Yitzhar/Borin roadblocks

No military activity.

Awarta

The yellow barrier still bars the crossing to Nablus.

Beit Furik

7:40 a.m. 

There are no soldiers at the roadblock and the traffic flows without hindrance.

Hawwara roadblock

7:45 a.m. 

There is no hindrance to the traffic.

Borin/Yitzhar

A military car is parked in the bay and doesn't hinder anyone.

Za'tara/Tapuach

8:05 a.m. 

The soldiers check the passengers of two cars thoroughly but, because of the light traffic, no queue builds up.

Shomron crossing

The usual superficial inspection.