Huwwara, Tue 28.6.11, Afternoon
How many phone calls must a person make to obtain two permits?
12:40
The Kufr a-Dik Women’s Club We brought permits from the coordinator of permissions (permits for the day at the beach, 29.6. Everyone participating needs a permit, from the youngest to the oldest. Three women welcome us warmly and joyfully. They’re dressed traditionally in black; one is veiled. Jeans peep from under the hems of their skirts. It isn’t clear initially whether children who aren’t accompanied by their parents will also be able to enjoy the outing. After a series of phone calls, we can relax – everyone will be permitted to go. But not exactly: Two children didn’t receive permits. One, 5 years old, because of an error in writing his ID number, and the second, aged 13, is “denied by the Shin Bet.” “Denied” in Hebrew. Her crime is unknown. It’s even more surprising, because her brother is allowed to get on the bus. If she can’t go, neither can he. Meanwhile we wait. In the absence of a common language we alternate between translators and pantomime. It turns out that the three women are unemployed and occasionally obtain temporary work at the Club. It was established in 2004, funded by the Japanese government. Hala, the club’s director, now joins us. Her face is like her name, glowing. “Hala” means halo. She’s new in the area, originally from Jordan. We exchange phone numbers. She wants us to meet her two daughters. All this time phone calls are going back and forth, but by the end of the meeting we still don’t know the fate of the two children who haven’t received permits. Time is pressing – fewer than 24 hours remain before the trip to the beach. If they get the permits, someone will have to go to the nearest DCO to pick them up. Even though the fax machine has already been invented… Among those benefitting from the occupation, in addition to contractors, are the various phone companies. Also the army of clerks. They’re working on the road to Fadu’el, Beit Arieh and Aley Zahav. Someone guesses that when they’re finished it will also become an apartheid road.
14:00
A grocery in Hars. Little Israeli merchandise in the store. Recently the army hasn’t often entered the village. Nor is anyone throwing rocks. Much unemployment. Not all the residents own land. Land is expensive and there’s no money to buy it. The adults work in the settlements. One resident says he dug a pit on his land to collect rainwater. The army forbade him to do so. An attorney is currently handing the matter. It’s costing him a lot of money, but he needs a source of drinking water.
15:30
Huwwara A youth says that at 3:15, before we arrived, he saw an accident. An army jeep collided with a Palestinian vehicle. The jeep drove away, but another military vehicle arrived. Two people who were lightly injured were evacuated by a local ambulance.
16:00
Huwwara checkpoint Considerable traffic flows freely.
16:10
Tapu’ach junction Traffic flows freely.
Explanation of the photographs (which was missing from the original report) Photos 1 and 2: A collision in Huwwara between a vehicle belonging to the Palestinian Authority and an IDF jeep. Two Palestinians were injured. The jeep drove away and an IDF Hummer appeared instead. The injured were evacuated by the Palestinian ambulance. Photo 3: An amusing sign over a garage on Huwwara’s main street. לפני שמפיצים תמונות של שלטים "משעשעים," אני מציע לחשוב פעמיים. היום בהארץ קראתי ידיעה שקטע ממנה מופיע להלן: כך, למשל, נכתב היום על שלטים השם "ירושלים" ולצדו "Jerusalem" באנגלית ו"אל-קודס", או "אורושלים", בערבית. על פי הצעת כץ ייכתב באנגלית התעתיק העברי: "YERUSHALAYIM" וכך גם בערבית. ההצעה נוגעת גם לעשרות יישובים. בשלטים נכתב היום שם העיר עכו בערבית, "עכא"; חברון היא "אל-חליל" וטבריה היא "טבריא" בבי"ת דגושה. נצרת באנגלית היא כמובן Nazareth ולא NATSRAT כהצעת כץ. משעשע לא פחות, ואולי אף יותר. לדעתי, עדיף ללא שעשועים.