Deir Sharaf, Mon 29.6.09, Afternoon
15:00
On the way to Dir Sharaf on highway #60, on the western side of the road opposite the house which the settlers call "Shvut Ami", an additional tent has been erected on the slope of the hill and young people are sitting at its entrance.
15:10
Three soldiers are standing outside their station at the "barrels" checkpoint next to the village of Dir Sharaf, spread out across the road and occasionally stopping a car for inspection of documents. Two policemen wander around outside the soldiers' station and, after a few minutes, a van arrives with yellow license plates; a female soldier, a male soldier and dog descend from it.
15:20
A car which arrives from the direction of Nablus is requested to stand on the side. The driver is asked to get out and the dog enters it to smell around. We are standing at a distance of about 20 meters from the checkpoint. A soldier approaches us and says, "I saw you standing here for a long time and came over to find out who you are. Ah - the MachsomWatch organisation - I know about it." and answers our question about what the dog and the dog trainer are doing - "Oh, that is the "Okets" unit, they come to help us to check suspicious vehicles." The soldier goes back to his station. The Palestinian car which was inspected stands at the side of the road and vehicles pass through from both directions. In the middle of the narrow road, next to the soldiers' station, there is a plastic barrier and large vehicles, trucks and buses, are forced to wind their way through this section carefully and skillfully.
15:35
The Palestinian driver returns to his car with the papers and drives off. They stop another Palestinian car. The driver and an additional passenger get out of the car and the dogs smells around it and goes inside. A soldier carefully inspects the front of the car and underneath it, again and again, for several minutes. The policemen also join in the inspection.
15:45
We merit another visit from the soldiers. This time there are two. "We came to see who you are. What are you doing here? We stand here for 10 hours and you record every bad thing that we do?" After a short conversation, the soldiers go back to their stations.
15:55
One of the soldiers continues to check the same car. Again and again he lies beneath it. From time to time he calls another soldier. The driver and his friend stand on the side. The policeman comes over to them and asks for their papers. When we left, at 16:10, the car was still standing there while two policemen and five soldiers were dealing with it.