Habla, Sun 13.2.11, Morning

06:50  Habla.  There are soldiers at the checkpoint and a command-car is parked there.  About 35 people are waiting for the checkpoint to open.

07:00  The lights go on in the inspection building.  Five minutes later an announcement is made to those waiting and they begin moving toward the checkpoint in groups of 5.

Inspection takes between 4 and 10 minutes.

A donkey cart comes out, also a tractor.  A school bus enters the village.

07:25  We leave.  About 30 people now at the checkpoint, after more arrived.

We (with Nadim) go through Nebi Elias, 'Azzun, Jayyus – the villages are quiet, an occasional person on foot or pupils on their way to school.

07:50  On a dirt road – actually, a rocky road – we reach theJayyus checkpoint.

A few tractors and cars are waiting at the checkpoint.  And once again, for the n-th time, I’m bothered by the thought of the farmers having to be reinspected each day on their way to their fields in the seam zone.

A flock of sheep isn’t allowed to cross – the checkpoint commander answers our question, saying the shepherd doesn’t have an agricultural permit.

08:00  Everyone wanting to leave has gone through the checkpoint.  The soldiers are polite to us.  The commander says, on his own initiative, that he doesn’t close the checkpoint exactly at 08:00.  Even if vehicles arrive late, he allows them through.

08:15  Falamya:  The checkpoint is empty.  We speak to a Palestinian next to the checkpoint, with Nadim’s help.  The checkpoint is open from 05:30 to 17:30.  Why?  God knows.  The question, in fact, isn’t why this checkpoint is open all day, but why other seam zone checkpoints are open only for such a short time.

We pass through Kufr Jamal, also quiet, no one in the streets.  We drink tea at the home of Nadim’s relatives.