Eyal Crossing, 'Anabta, Deir Sharaf, Irtah (Sha'ar Efrayim), Jubara (Kafriat), Ras 'Atiya, Tue 20.10.09, Afternoon
Translator: Charles K.
Habala
14:35 The gate is closed; there are no soldiers.
Ras Atiya
14:50 The gate is open (12 hours a day). The soldiers try to explain what it means that Palestinians are living in Israeli territory and stress that they themselves don’t understand either. When we ask about the new road being paved to the east and the wall being very energetically built there, they say they think that an additional Palestinian village will be added to the area of Ras Atiya.
Deir Sharaf
15:30 Polite soldiers explain to Sami how to get to Nablus by car because people on foot aren’t allowed to go through the checkpoint.
Anabta
15:50 Traffic flows, no delays or inspections. We wonder who the two people selling coffee are waiting for? Apparently traffic doesn’t always flow.
Jubara
16:05 This is the hour when people return to the village, and leave it, on foot and in vehicles. A large group of soldiers. They inspect everyone, including bags and packages. They inspect the trunks of cars, but don’t make women and children get out. Someone who’s been in Israel without a permit arrives at the same time as we do, and is made to sit off to the side and wait.Many military vehicles stop, and then continue. It turns out that an exercise for reservists is underway in this heat.
Irtah
16:50 Only one booth is operating and the line quickly lengthens, at least 200 people. We call the DCO who promise to “look into it.”
17:00 Nothing happens. The laborers push forward when the turnstile opens and even get dangerously trapped inside. They yell to those at the gate to open more booths. We call again. Again they say they’ll look into it.
17:10 A second booth opens. The line quickly disappears.
The laborers ask us to arrange for this checkpoint to open at 4:00 AM, like at Eyal, and not at 4:30.
Eyal
17:35 No line at all, the few laborers who arrive enter quickly.