Deir Sharaf, Huwwara, Za'tara (Tapuah), Wed 3.2.10, Afternoon

Translation: Aliya S.

14:30  Shomron Border Crossing: 
There were no lines and no problems here. Heavy rain was falling as we entered the territories. The almond trees are beautiful.

 14:50  Za'tara
There was a short line of vehicles from the direction of Ramallah probably due to heavy traffic. From the direction of Nablus the soldiers were checking each vehicle.
We counted 42 vehicles waiting to go through this checkpoint.

15:10  Huwwara
A young soldier stopped us as we turned into the parking lot. Nadim, who had been there in the morning, said that these soldiers had not been there. The soldier asked us who we were and where we were going. He claimed never to have heard of Machsom Watch, so we explained who we are and what we do. He then said, "So you're going to bother me in my work!" This makes me think that he had heard of us, but who knows. He continued asking us questions and we got the impression that he was just looking for a diversion on a boring afternoon duty.

 There was nothing to note at the checkpoint; the traffic was flowing freely. Out of Nablus the soldiers seemed to to checking randomly, but the traffic was not really held up.

15:30  Dir Sharaf (The Barrels):
Both lanes of the road are open and the traffic was passing freely. An army jeep was parked by the checkpoint and a bus had been detained at the side of the road. The bus went on its way a few minutes after we arrived. Then another bus passed with no problem.

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