'Anabta, Eliyahu Crossing, Habla, Irtah (Sha'ar Efrayim), Izbat at Tabib, Jayyus Wed 1.6.11, Afternoon
Translator: Charles K.
12:45 Habla– We arrived early and started talking with two Palestinians who were waiting for the gates
to open. They complained about the opening hours. They would like the gate to open earlier in the morning, at 06:00 rather than at 07:00, and also in the afternoon, at 17:00 rather than at 17:45.
Another thing: They say the soldiers speak to them rudely, order them around (“back”), particularly when many people are waiting and crossing takes too long. They say inspections could be conducted more quickly. They have land registered in the tabu on which they grow olive saplings (other crops need more water than they’re allotted). During the summer they’d rather start work earlier and go home earlier.
An army jeep with three soldiers arrives; they wait for the MP’s.
13:00 About ten people gather around us, and a few Palestinians on the village side.
13:10 - The gate is still closed. A pickup and a truck arrive. We talk to the soldiers and understand that the vehicle broke down but was repaired and the MP’s are on the way.
13:25 – The army vehicle arrives. The gate finally opens but the computer isn’t working.
The soldiers decide to prepare a handwritten list. The first five hand over their IDs, a pickup and a truck go through.
We’re told that yesterday the gate opened at 18:30. We ask the soldiers, who say that’s when they were told to open it – today also – unlike what the sign on the gate says.
The soldier says: “There’s a mix-up.”
The first five Palestinians cross from the village.
An amiable Palestinian man gives us a foot-long cucumber…fresh and tasty.
13:40 Eliyahu crossing – 4 cars wait from each direction. Two tractors are working off to our left. What’s being built?
14:00 Izbet Tabib - The concertina wire fence is about 400 meters long. We’re not sure whether it’s been completed.
14:15 Jayyous – We visit Na’im. We’re told the village has been quiet for the past few days. We drive to the second-hand store and give bags of clothes to his wife.
Back to route 55 toward El Funduq, and then north to route 60.
15:165 Anabta – Soldiers in the guard tower, a water wagon alongside. No sign indicating that it’s the entrance to Area A.
15:30 Kafriat/Te’anim crossing – It’s quiet.
15:35 Irtah/Efraim gate – Many people returning home. A mother and son who are going to a wedding say they’ve been waiting since 15:00 at the revolving gate to enter Israel. We ask the guards why they’re not allowed through. We’re told they arrived only five minutes ago, and they’ll be let through soon.
Y. stopped alongside us and asked us to help a relative of his, a 25 year old man who’d been jailed in Israel and since being released has been suffering from chills and fever. Doctors in the West Bank and in Jordan couldn’t help him. He wants an entry permit to Israel, to be examined in a hospital. We told him how to go about obtaining one. We have his information.