Mevo Dotan (Imriha), Reihan, Shaked, Sun 13.2.11, Afternoon
Translation: Bracha B.A.
Shaked-Tura Checkpoint, 15.10
The checkpoint is extremely quiet. A car arrives from the seamline zone. The driver tells us that his car is not registered on his permit, but that he is not worried, since the soldiers are good now. The car passes through in five minutes. A young man and woman arrive from the other side carrying large bags of "millet" – ground tobacco leaves. Since things are quiet we give them a ride to their grandfather's house in Dar al Malak.
15:40 – Reihan Barta'a Checkpoint
The gates
of the vehicle inspection facility open and four cars drive through, and collect their passengers who are waiting on the road. Five cars are waiting below next to the first inspection point. In one car, two men, two women, and a girl. They run their magnetic cards through the machine and drive through the inspection area. We are not familiar with this procedure. A lot of workers begin to arrive at 16:10. The turnstile is closed. Three detainees are waiting.
We talk with one of the workers. She works from 05:30 until 16:00 with a half hour break – a 10-hour workday for which she is paid only 9NIS per hour! She does not complain. She has the right to work and feels she has a kind of freedom. After 5 minutes the turnstile opens and 27 workers enter the terminal.
Two windows are open. By 16:20 there is no line. Then some action begins – a photography crew emerges from the terminal – a male and female soldier and a civilian who are willing to provide us with a bit of information about a checkpoint that will involve minimal contact with people. They photograph the people coming through the turnstile as well as the inspection points inside. The terminal is operating extremely efficiently and one gets the feeling that they are providing a show of how efficient passage can be.
16:55- Mevo Dotan Checkpoint
The checkpoint is manned by soldiers from the Engineering Corps. They are checking vehicles at random – sometimes peeking inside and sometimes letting cars go through without checking at all. One car is checked more thoroughly: the soldiers open the boot, etc. The soldiers come up to us and ask if we need help. They say they are familiar with "Machsom Watch" and leave.