'Anin, Reihan, Shaked, Thu 26.5.11, Afternoon
14.50 A'anin CP
Four tractors and six people are already waiting. Five soldiers are also here. They do not open the CP. They are punctual. They open exactly at 15.00. Very carefully, they inspect the bags of used clothes that we have brought. They do not allow the last tractor driver to go through with the bags of clothes. In the meantime, a woman officer has gone through, in a Hummer, and she said that it is not allowed. That is what the (sergeant) commander of the CP tells us. We did not succeed in getting the order cancelled. The officer ordered it, says the sergeant. For the honor of the IDF and the State of Israel!
The father of the fellow whose ID and permit were taken from him last week (report of the 19 of May), tells us that the ID was returned, but his son has to request a new permit from the Palestinian DCO in Jenin. He is very grateful to Shula who took care of getting the ID returned to him.
15.20 We leave. The soldiers have to stay until 15.30. The sergeant says that another person may yet arrive to go through (according to the lists in the computer, all those who went out in the morning must return).
15.30 Shaked-Tura CP
There is a little traffic from the West Bank to the seamline zone. Only one small colorful truck goes through to the West Bank.
16.00 Reihan-Barta'a, seamline zone side
People, women and children who came out of the terminal are climbing up the sleeve
. The children are especially festive. It turns out that the season of weddings has arrived. One man tells us that his wife is from East Barta'a (in the seamline zone) and he is from A'anin (on the West Bank). The woman got a permit to stay in Barta'a for half a year and he got a permit only for three days. Their children go to school in Barta'a. They went to a lawyer to help them get permanent residence permits for the seamline zone.
To our surprise at this time there is already a queue of 30 people at the entrance to the terminal, even though two windows are in operation. For reasons that are not clear to us, the people are told to enter in pairs or in fours and the turnstile is locked behind them. The passage in the opposite direction – to the seamline zone, slows the procedure even more. Three people are detained on the bench in the terminal. One man says that the passage in this CP is like an extra day's work.
16.40 The three detainees are released and sent on their way. A family goes through with little girls all dressed up. The adult women do not want us to talk to them. The tempo of the passage improves somewhat.
17.00 We go up the sleeve to the upper parking lot. In front of the vehicle CP four cars are waiting for passage to the West Bank. Two of them are 'wedding cars', decorated with ribbons and flowers. The groom in a shining shirt draws his magnetic card at the inspection window. Four of the women from his family stand beside him. Good luck to all of them!