Al Jib (Givat Zeev)

Translating: Ruth Fleishman

Qalandiya:

During the desolate, blazing and dusty afternoon, arrived a group of women and small children after visiting their beloved ones at the military prison. Once again the absence (in the name of security?) of fathers, brothers and older sons was evident.

Peddlers talked about demonstrations that were held during the weekend near the checkpoint, about gas and shock grenades that were shot, traces of which were still scattered near the wall- a ritual that had become routine and would remain so until the flams rise and consume us all.

The person that employs Ahmed - the peddler from Falafel stand that is being held in Ofer prison- updated us that four days earlier Ahmed's arrest had been prolonged by an additional 40 days.

Ahmed has been imprisoned in Ofer jail for over three months, waiting for a trial regarding false accusations that the occupation had placed against him.

El Jib checkpoint:

The sides of the road leading to the checkpoint were fenced, creating a netted pen both narrow and long.

One could deduce about the hardship of the laborers that work in the settlements from something a young man said as he was making his way on the long path between the fences after a day's work: "I should go to the doctor because of the pain in my back from standing hear every day for two hours until passing".

Ar-Ram:

All the exits from Ar-Ram to road 60 had been blocked by BP officers.

The commander on site explained that John Kerry was on his way to Ramallah and that the blockage would be removed only after three and a half hours. The rest of the road leading from Jaba checkpoint in the direction of the VIP lane had been closed to Palestinian vehicles. At the entrance to the settlements policemen stood by the side of their cars waiting for the convoy (but for three and a half hours?).

Trans:ationlJudith Green

14:45  Qalandiya

In the grocery, we watch yesterday's video.  Children throwing stones, a soldier says to the grocery owner, "Do you need the children to continue throwing stones?"  The owner went out of the store, closed the door, but didn't lock it.  At 18:00, the soldier entered the store and threw a tear gas grenade.  You can still feel the gas.  The olives taste like gas.

 We went to Jib.  A youth tries to go through;  a soldier sites behind a tall window with filthy glass.  The youth puts up the green ID card and says 31.  That is his number, he doesn't have a name.  The tall window is like the story of the Turkish Ambassador, the youth stands in a low position.  A long time passes.  The youth enters the nearby room, where they also do inspection;  afterward, they check his number in a notebook and finally let him through.  The Border Policeofficer says, "There are procedures, and you are endangering yourselves in the red area."

In the morning, the passage is slow and at eight it is no longer worth going through, the employer won't take any more workers.  A day of work is wasted.

Someone told us that, during Ramadan, he wanted to go to his sister in Rahat.  He requested a permit, and they told him to come and go - he had to take the request to the Palestinian Authority who were supposed to then pass it on to the DCO.  He doesn't know if the Authority took the trouble to pass on the request.  In the end, he didn't get a permit.  He said that he doesn't even know his sister's young children.

 At Jaba there were blockages in both directions.

While at Beit Hanina before heading on our way, an old man named Anton, a pensioner of the Red Crescent, approached us. He was very pleased to see us and explained how important it was that human activists be there, but then added: "Here all human rights are crushed".

Qalandiya Checkpoint:

The parking lot on the northern side of the checkpoint was filled with vehicles, but never the less the checkpoint was deserted.

Bir Nabala:

On our way to El Jib checkpoint we parked just at the entrance to the village Bir Nabala, there a mysterious slit in the separation wall appeared before us. It seemed as though one of the wall's concrete beams had been removed.

Al Jib:

Many vehicles were parked on the side of the road leading to El Jib checkpoint, and under the shade of the fig trees were drivers waiting to take the laborers with permits to pass through the checkpoint, back to their homes. When we arrived at the turnstile a BP officer escorted by another soldier came towards us. The officer described the checkpoint as one that served actual humanitarian needs: according to him, the essence of the checkpoint is to assist the Palestinians who work in Givon and Pisgat Zeev, since they no longer have to pass through Qalandiya checkpoint. He added that the El Jib checkpoint reduces the traffic at Qalandiya checkpoint. From a conversation we had with a friend that sells Falafel and coffee at the entrance to the checkpoint, as well as the one we had with one of the drivers, we learned that long line which are a result of strict inspections, often cause laborers to miss a day of work due of their tardiness. According to them, when missing a day of work a laborer might lose between 120 to 150 Shekels. In addition, it would seem that the officer had forgotten all those laborers wishing to get back home to El Jib, but that do not appear in the list of names of people who are permitted to pass. In these cases the soldier will send them to Qalandiya, a long and pricy journey.

At the end of the conversation, the officer approached the drivers and told them to park the cars that nearest to the checkpoint at the back, so as to create a 50 meter security zone. He explained to us that the possibility that one of them might park a vehicle with a bomb in it by the checkpoint worried him.

One of the drivers showed us an invite he received to work in a factory doing woodwork and construction. He was prevented passage by the police and wondered how he could ever pay a lawyer so that the prevention would be lifted, when he is a father of five who was currently making his living from driving laborers home. 

Jaba checkpoint:

At Jaba checkpoint it seemed that someone was overzealous as there were two trainers with their dogs. The checkpoint commander explained that this was a "routine inspection of the dogs". Is the inspection preformed there really of the dogs or is it perhaps it's actually an inspection of Palestinians? The attached photo is of a dog being rewarded after having found the ball his coacher placed in the vehicle of a Palestinian. Much has been said about the training of dogs using Palestinian vehicles that pass through this checkpoint, the following link is to an article by Amira Has that elaborates on this:

http://www.haaretz.co.il/news/politics/1.1725872

The driver of a passing vehicle didn't understand what the soldier was trying to signal him and broke through the checkpoint. One of the soldiers cocked his rifle and began chasing him, the driver stopped and was nearly shot. The four passengers were taken out of the car and detained while an inspection of the vehicle was being preformed. At last they were permitted to drive on. Perhaps, had we not been there this event might have ended differently.

Translating: Ruth Fleishman

Qalandiya:

The desolation, filth and stench had become part of the essence of the existential state that seems to have clung to the place and people.

While "Day of Jerusalem" was being celebrated on the other side of the walls, here, at the checkpoint and its surroundings that are considered part of "Greater Jerusalem", the daily routine was taking place as though in acceptance of reality, as if it were a predestination that couldn't be changed, without horizons and hope, because their years of experience have tough them that constant change has but one intention- to harm and to benefit.

El- Jib

It is difficult and impermissible to grow accustomed to the sight of an inspection preformed on a person exiting Palestine which entails humiliation and the loss of dignity.

The differences in heights between the inspectors in  the fortified post, who see the person in front/ beneath them through bullet proof  and opaque windows, and the person inspected who is forced to stretch his body and life his hand with the documents towards them, is of tens of centimeters. It's not only a difference in height, but an additional method to determine the hierarchy of the superior and the inferior, of the master and the servant.  

A coincidence? A mistake or lack of attention to detail?- there is no doubt that this is intentional.

"Oh, you arrived through the red zone!", said the commander after hearing our replay to his question, how the hell did we arrive from the side from which Israelis aren't expected to come. Because the green line had been erased for years from the maps and adds, the red (=Palestine) and the blue (=Israel) have replaced it.

The choice of colours isn't coincidental. Red is associated with danger, blood and pain, while blue is associated with serenity.

At "Abu-Yunis's Café" a construction contractor told us about the conditions under which the laborers are employed, a daily wage of 120 to 150 Shekels: "it depends on the job the person preforms and whether or not he is a professional", and clarified that no social benefits of any other benefits are added to this sum, that the work permits for the settlements, unlike the permits that allow them to work in Israel (which are granted only to those over 35 who have families) are granted at the age of 25 and regardless of  marital status.

Of course, it depends on the authorization of the GSS and their renewal every three months.

And another person spoke of his brother who after working for ten years ("and without any troubles") at a settlement on the other side of the wall, one morning two years ago, his permit had been taken from him and he was told that he was prevented passage by the GSS. Ever since he has been walking from office to office, knocking on doors, asking, requesting- nothing. "Even when he had to go through examinations at Mukased Hospital and asked for a one day permit- he didn't receive it".

Jaba checkpoint:

A dog and its trainer were in the midst a van inspection. The driver was standing nearby. The inspection lasted several long minutes. The soldier led the dog with its leash and it sniffed around, inside and outside. After the dog had successfully completed the mission, once it had probably found the object hidden, it was taken away from the vehicle and received from its master a reward in a colourfulplastic bowl. And the driver, whose vehicle had been confiscated and then returned, kicked with anger and fury at the door before entering and then proceeded to drive.

05:00 We were amazed to see the hall empty. It seems to us that the  group of soldiers at the  checking window points work efficiently
On the other hand,the Palestinians say that on other days it is the same long and slowly process.
Again ,at the car check we were told to leave the car and go through the pedestrian checkpoint since we are not related to the driver. Since we didn't want to delay the cars behind us we  just left and met Liliana at the exit and continued to Il Jib.One man  met us at the exit and smiled and said : "So, how does it feel to be an Arab?" Right  before that the surprised woman soldier who checked our IDs snapped at us:" So, what do you achieve by all this?"   
.Il Jib  - the pastoral checkpoint at the back of a gas station. - these two elements give this checkpoint a bizarre feel. People get gas at the gas station and have no idea who are the people at the corner and no idea what their lives are like. And the checkpoint set at the edge of fruit and olive orchards adds to the bizarre feel.
There was a line but the checkpoint services about 600- 800 people and if all goes well...

Translating: Ruth Fleishman

Photos from al-Jib CP:

Perseverence pays

Women back from work

Shoring permits

Qalandiya:
Muhammad, who was arrested on the previous day (Saturday, 31.3.12) by a BP force, spoke of what followed the events of the Land day.  His hands were handcuffed, his eyes were blindfolded and he was placed inside a Jeep that took him to Atarot base. "Boom, boom, boom- blows to the head…" he demonstrated with his fists and said that they accused him of throwing stones at Jews and that they warned him to never come back to work near the checkpoint: "Go to work in Ramallah, don't let us see you again near the checkpoint- they said to me. And my mother cried and waited for me here until nightfall. I don't throw stones. I have a baby and I need money to feed it".  

And Hammed who sat by him showed the fresh injuries he sustained on his arm - beatings he received from soldiers, and then he pulled his trousers up and bared  a thigh scared from bullet shots. "He has more like these on his back", said Muhammad.  

El Jib checkpoint:
Being used to the fact that checkpoints prevent and restrict the passage from Palestine into Israel, while the entrance to Palestine is permitted with no inspections or delays, we were surprised to find out that at El-Jib checkpoint the entrance to Palestine also entails complications.

Tens of people stood cramped between two turnstiles in front of a soldier, whose body peeked out of the door of the post as he inspected each and every permit. A selection was made between the workers employed in settlements- who were allowed to return home, and others, such as the father of an ill child who was hospitalized at Augusta Victoria hospital, he sat all day long by his child's bed: "Go to Qalandiya", said the soldier to him.
"This checkpoint is only for settlements", the person on duty at the humanitarian line said explicitly.

As though for the sake of humiliation, the soldier's post is elevated higher than the body of the Palestinians entering the inspection zone, so they must stretch their bodies and raise the hand holding the permit over their heads. Those coming out of the checkpoint knock on the metal cover set on the slot for the IDs, and only once the soldier's attention is directed to them, a thing that might take several minutes since the soldier is engaged in a phone call or for any other reason, the door opens and the man or women enter a room where they go through a meticulous inspection.

Photos from al-Jib CP:

Perseverence pays

Women back from work

Shoring permits

.Translator: Charles K

Qalandiya

There was no one at the checkpoint when we arrived at 5 AM. That happens sometimes, and it’s hard to know why. The coffee seller had an explanation – fewer people are working in construction because of the rain.

We ourselves went through the entire route. It was a pleasant change to meet soldiers who were neither hostile nor angry. We understand that’s the way they behave to the people going through the checkpoint.

Jib

At Jib, on the other hand, the line was long. The checkpoint is located beside farmland and olive trees, all very pastoral. It was unpleasant to hear the female soldier’s loud, piercing voice. People appeared tired. Although they crossed quickly, it was hard to listen to the repeated orders to move back one step, two steps, to wait at the exactly required distance before the revolving gate. 150 laborers were there this morning.

It would seem that the residents of El-Jib village don't hold a good impression of their neighbors from across the fence.

Qalandiya:

Tens of people huddled up in front of each of the three active inspection lanes are an unexpectable sight for such an hour. After observing this for a couple of minutes it became clear that the reason was the inactivity of the soldiers in the posts. The Palestinians as usual accepted it. They stood silently and waited. From their many years of experience they learned that complaints, yelling and defiance won't speed the process nor will they make things easier for them.  

On the northern side of the checkpoint, where thousands pass each day, a market of merchandize and various types of food is sprouting and flourishing. You may find telephones, books for children, sweets, hot and cold drinks and even feed on a Kebab enwrapped in Pita bread.  
No one knows how long this commercial "prosperity" will last. Since over here, in the no man's land between the refugee camp and the checkpoint, reality is fragile, inspectors from the municipality with the help of police officers and soldiers might (as has happened numerous times in the past) appear at the site at any hour of every day and destroy the stands, confiscate merchandise and scales, and fine the owners. This is because the dry law states this place to be under the jurisdiction of the municipality of Jerusalem, and none of the peddlers neither has nor indeed will ever be able to obtain a business license.

Taxi drivers continue to speak of the morning routine at Jaba checkpoint, the unnecessary delays and meticulous inspections which lead to tickets. Anything to delay their mergence at road 60- the main road leading to Jerusalem. The stories are the same, only the passion with which they are told differs. Reality and the need to survive turned the Palestinians into some sort of sponge. But even a sponge has a limited ability to absorb, and one cannot predict what might happen when it all becomes too much.

El-Jib
"It all depends on the soldier", said Yunis the owner of the canteen and added that Thursday was a tough day, and that because of a specific soldier who performed the inspections had caused difficulties, the last of the workers passed only at nine o'clock, a time when some return to their homes: "because their working day is ruined".

A shepherd was leading his sheep between the olives trees behind the walls of the checkpoint with the help of a dog who made sure the sheep kept to their places. "It's a Jewish dog", said the shepherd with pride. The young men that were present apologetically explained that the shepherd didn't take the dog away from anyone, but had received it from someone who lived in New Givon when it was very small, that he didn't do it take it without permission, that he took care of the dog and fed it, that the dog was his…
The phrasing of the explanation made it clear that they were worried that the two Jewish women might take the dog away from its owner. And when Aya presented herself before the shepherd and asked what his name was, he was puzzled and asked: "do you know I'm an Arab?"
It would seem that the residents of El-Jib village don't hold a good impression of their neighbors from across the fence.

Translating: Ruth Fleishman

Qalandiya checkpoint:
The soldier and security guard spent  45 minutes making inquiries and running about from the ambulance to their post and back again, while a Palestinian ambulance that was transferring the body of a man who  used to live in Gaza but didn't survive the operation he went through in Nablus, and an Israeli ambulance at the other side of the checkpoint, were being detained only several meters away from each other, until finally all doubt was lifted and the deceased was found to be "Kosher", he wasn't, god forbid, a terrorist or a ticking bomb, and so all the obstructions were removed and the carcass could return home.
The heat wave probably did not agree with the deceased.

El Gib checkpoint:
While we were sitting under the fig tree at "Unis's Deli" drinking hot coffee and eating Falafel that had just been taken out from the boiling oil, the locals told about their lives:
 
They told us how laborers wait during the morning hours in lines that stretch for hundreds of meters like cattle so as to arrive to work at Givon Hahadasha, about the soldiers that "have no respect for human beings", about the curses and insults that they have to take from the soldiers that in spite of them knowing everyone (after all it's always the same people that pass every day), they make it hard for them and hold long inspections so that at times in it not until the late morning hours that everyone pass. But there's no point in going to work at that hour since the employer would just send the laborer back home. And so they lose a day of work which adds up to between 120 to 140 Shekels.
"The laborers", said one person "work like donkeys. But only the rich get richer, the contractors".  

We were told about a teenager of fourteen who climbed over the fence (he wanted to visit his mother in hospital at east Jerusalem) and had been ratted in to the police by a well-known snitch from the village. The boy was taken in and now his is serving time in an Israeli prison.

People told us of hundreds of dunams of fertile land that had been confiscated when the separation wall was erected, and of the ancient olive trees that grew in that land but were uprooted and taken to far away and foreign lands.

On the other side of the road a Jewish contractor and his Palestinian workers were building a roof on top of the lane in front of the checkpoint. A generous sovereign makes sure that the heads of those who build houses for settlers on their own stolen land with their own blood, sweat and tears, don't get wet in the rain and don't scorch under the blazing sun.

Translated by Ruth Fleishman

Qalandiya:
The relics from the Fridays of the Ramadan months were still detectable. Cement blocks were scattered on the roads, narrowing the lanes and along the separation wall was another ,paralle,l separation wall (shorter than the first) with an open gate at the center, "the revolving door" the soldiers called it, "the gate of the rejected" was how we call it (Ruti Barkay coined the phrase).
Through it they banished the women who did not comply with the age criterion. The pictures of Moatassem Adwan and Ali Khalifa, who were murdered at the refugee camp, were still hanging for the separation wall and fences.

Al Jib checkpoint:
"The DCO should check whether he isn't 'refused passage'- and I'll cross!", the checkpoint commander notified his supervisors on the radio link in regards to a dying man who was being transferred to Mukased hospital.
In addition the commander read out loud the man's medical chart. After all, people who have no rights don't have a medical confidentiality either. The Palestinians inside and around the checkpoint, the numerous soldiers and us, heard all the details. We heard that the man was unconscious, that he had cancer and that he had a wide range of additional illnesses.
Luckily for the Palestinian the DCO answered that the man was "clean". Otherwise, perhaps once again an unconscious person with only hours to live (the ambulance driver whispered to us), would rise from his death bed and endanger the country.  

During that hour in the day the laborers make their way home after working in the surrounding settlement. Many stopped to tell us that the checkpoint commander, a BP officer who arrives there once in every two or three weeks, doesn't allow the residents of the nearby villages, who work in Jerusalem, to cross this checkpoint when heading back, he sends them to Qalandiya or Zaitim.
This trip not only takes them a long time but is also very costly.