Habla, Qalqiliya, Mon 28.2.11, Morning

06:45 – Habla gate – It’s supposed to open at 07:00, so we thought we were early – but we weren’t.  It’s already open.

We’re told that, as of yesterday, it opens at 06:30 – FYI.

[We called the DCO, who promised to send Tami the new hours today.  So, for tomorrow’s shift, if you haven’t gotten them, contact Tami.]

People crossed quickly – 25 went through in 13 minutes.

The school buses arrived about 7 and also went through quickly.

07:30  Jayyus gate (north) – Many rocks on the road down to the gate, forcing us to wind our way around them to reach the gate.  The gate is closed and locked, not a living soul in sight.  We returned to the village to find out what’s going on.

We received different answers to the question of when the gate is open – from 05:00 to 05:40, but also from 05:45 to 06:15.

The rocks were apparently put there by children wanting to delay the soldiers.  That’s because three or four days ago the army came to the village and took photographs inside the homes – according to villagers we spoke to.

08:00  Falamya gate – A tractor, people and a man in a donkey cart cross.  A young man detained outside because he has 4 beehives intended for a greenhouse to pollinate tomato plants but isn’t allowed through, even though he says he often does this and there’s never a problem.  When I went to the car to call the DCO he was called back to the inspection booth.  I decided to wait and see what happened, but 15 minutes later he came out, disappointed – they won’t let him cross.  He wanted to take the hives back to his village by taxi but we told him to wait and called the DCO.

They told us that it had been a mistake, that he’s allowed to cross and they’ll take care of it.  In less than 5 minutes he was allowed through.  When he crossed, a soldier wanted to see what was in the boxes (the hives), but another soldier made him swear not to touch them because he’s afraid of bees – and he’s a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces.

The coward is afraid of bees, but not of us, and called us whores as we left.

It’s interesting that the hives were made of carton, with an exit hole on one side made of plastic, like a door that can be opened, and the top can be raised to see inside because there’s a clear plastic barrier under it.  The hives are produced in Yad Mordechai, and the packing date on them was today.  We thought that was pretty impressive.