Hamra, Tue 22.12.09, Afternoon

Translation: Bracha B.A.

Hamra Checkpoint 13:15
There is a soldier at the checkpoint with a weapon cocked and aimed at the people passing through.  There are a lot of workers returning from work.  All of them get through very quickly without being checked.  A taxi driver said that in the morning they had been delayed and that the soldiers had held things up.
A soldier approached us and asked us who we were and asked if we had arranged our visit or if we had announced it to anyone. After a short explanation he was surprised, and he had never heard of Machsom Watch.

13:30 – A long line of cars has formed.  We counted 23 and all of them went through in a reasonable amount of time.  The soldiers received reinforcements and there are now seven soldiers manning all the lanes on both sides.  The workers who came through on foot have to show their I.D.s.  Those walking through are putting their belts back on in the entrance.
  By 14:15 the checkpoint was empty.

We didn’t visit Tayasir Checkpoint this time.