Mevo Dotan (Imriha), Reihan, Shaked, Sun 26.6.11, Morning
Translation; Bracha B.A.
06:00
We passed Reihan Barta'a Checkpoint on our way to the Mevo Dotan checkpoint via Emricha. People were moving through the checkpoint and three trucks were waiting for their second inspection on the side of the road. Three other trucks with their cargo wrapped in blue plastic were already inside the parking area.
We drove past Emricha, the Bedouin village where people appear to be the neediest. For this reason we prefer to leave bags of used clothing there. We stopped next to a house where we heard a radio playing and left the clothes outside without going in.
Mevo Dotan Checkpoint
The checkpoint is open and the soldiers have not yet arrived, and cars are driving through freely. A paper sign pasted on a building says something about the designated zone, refering to the Jewish orthodox custom of fencing off an area where people are permitted to walk to on the Sabbath. We have seen signs like this in other places near Tayasir Checkpoint where there are religious soldiers.
Smoke is rising from some of the charcoal factories in the area.
Reihan Checkpoint
We noted how long it takes for people to get through the terminal. It took 5-10 minutes. Bassem, who works in Shaked, says that it sometimes takes as long as an hour and takes longer on Saturdays.
He feels this is because the manager is not there on Saturdays and the clerks are not doing their best on the job ande being lazy. During the half hour that we observed the activity in the sleeve
and the vehicle checkpoint, the gates to the vehicle inspection facility opened twice and each time three vehicles came, including vans with eggs and other merchandise. These vehicles took less time to be checked. The truck check begins at 05:45 and each group of trucks takes an hour to an hour and a half to check and take the cargo off to examine, remove the plastic, and put it back on again. The plastic is removed and replaced and trucks are unloaded and loaded by Palestinian workers. We saw a large truck with two cargo containers being checked and dogs were sniffing the containers and the flexible mirror was being used underneath it. .
Shaked Tura Checkpoint
The checkpoint opened precisely at 07:00 and traffic moved through smoothly in both directions. The first people crossed through within four minutes. There are no school children or students because summer vacation has begun.