עאנין, ריחן, שקד, יום ג' 18.10.11, בוקר
05:50 A'anin CP
The gates
of the CP opened at 05:30. When we arrived, there were people coming out and walking on the road that leads from the CP to their olive groves. They tell us that more than a hundred people are waiting, that the passage is 'OK', but a little slow. The inspection is being carried out on the northern road going down, beyond the middle gate, and we cannot see those being inspected or those waiting. People complain that they received permits for only a month and still haven't received extensions. They also complain that additional members of the family – young and healthy – have not received permits. An older woman, a widow and mother of three, tries to pick olives. It is very difficult for her; she can barely bend over. Not one of her children received a permit. We give her the telephone number of the Center for the Protection of Individuals, and hope that they will succeed in helping her.
There does not seem to be a great deal of excitement here about the release of Palestinian prisoners today (in the deal for Gilad Shalit). There is no one from A'anin, but they tell us that there is one from Nazlat Sheikh Zaid nearby.
06:40 The children of the Bedoui family that lives at the foot of the CP arrive. They are waiting for a ride to Umm Reihan. We pick up a young veterinary, a resident of A'anin who studied in Turkey. He says that he has opened a clinic there, works six days a week caring for all the animals, from horses to chickens.
06:55 Shaked-Tura CP
There is no queue near the turnstiles; only a few are going through; a herd of goats has already passed. During the olive-picking season, they open at 06:00 and the farmers go through early. The children from 'the solitary house' arrive and go through to school in Tura. More than 20 young students arrive in a vehicle and go up to the military policewoman who looks briefly into their schoolbags. The driver reports to us that in a short while Gilad Shalit will be released and so will the Palestinian prisoners. He hopes that the deal will advance peace. A few teachers go through in both directions. There is no queue and therefore the teachers are not exempt from entering the inspection pavilion.
07:40 Reihan-Barta'a CP
In our car, we go down to the Palestinian parking lot on the lane kept for Israelis. On the parallel lane a Palestinian taxi and its passengers are being inspected. We are embarrassed. The parking lot is filling up. People arrive and enter the terminal in fives. There are almost no people going through to the West Bank.
08:05 Five private cars are waiting for inspection on their way to the seamline zone. Four loaded pickup trucks are waiting behind them. We leave the CP