Reihan, Shaked, Sun 25.4.10, Morning

Translated by Dvora K.

5:50 Reihan-Barta'a

Two cars leave the inspection area and pick up the workers who are waiting on the road on the way to the seamline zone. At 5:55 seven pickup trucks with goods and one ordinary car go up for inspection. After three minutes an additional truck and another car go up. In the parking lot on the Palestinian side, they are covering three pickup trucks, loaded with agricultural products, with nylon cling wrap. All the boxes are held together by the nylon "because of the forklift", they explain. They will be unwrapped and inspected one by one and wrapped again by the people who do the inspection.

Very few people ask to enter the terminal. We wondered if there was pressure when it opened. The driver, A., claims that there were not even ten people near the turnstile at 5:00 this morning.

At 6:24 a woman and two children arrive at the terminal They are seen in the sleeve coming out withing eight minutes. In the upper parking lot there are five vas waiting and workers waiting for their rides as usual.

6:50 Shaked-Tura
The CP opens at 7:00 on the dot. Seven minutes later the passage begins. Three young men go into the inspection room and a woman student who goes across the CP is called back; she is inspected on the spot and sent on her way. The teacher enters with the small Fiat at 07:10 and goes on his way after two minutes. The young banker from Daher-el-Malek, who works in the new bank that was opened in Ya'abed, tells us that on Saturday everything was a mess. The CP opened only at noon. Now he goes through in his car within three minutes. A few people come from the other side, busy closing their belts. The schoolbags of the pupils are inspected as at rifle is pointed at their feet by someone who appears to be the body guard of the soldier doing the inspection.

At 7:26 twelve people are still waiting near the turnstile.

At 7:27 the blue Transit arrives full of tiny children. The children get out of the vehicle and into it, with the soldier on guard pointing his gun down from his waist almost touching them. We do not remember ever having seen a sight of this kind.

At 7:31 the driver returns smiling: "Yallah. It's over!" and goes on his way. A herd of goats arrives from the direction of the West Bank at 7:50 and goes through in eight minutes. A woman leaves a carriage with a baby in it near the concrete cube, returns to the inspection room and comes running back in a minute. A soldier who apparently missed seeing what she did, approaches her to inspect her papers. She goes on to the isolated house.

At 8:00 a small herd of goats arrives from the direction of Dir-el Malek. Some of them are kids in the arms of children. It was a lovely picture that we photographed, of course. Somebody asks to buy two kids for sixty. They offer him one kid for sixty. That is too expensive. The exchange is canceled. A heavy tractor and a few workers in shiny vests -- are busy preparing the foundations for the new shed.