Hamra (Beqaot), Tayasir, Sun 1.1.12, Afternoon

Translator Dvora K.

M.Z., a shepherd who lives close to the settlement of Maskiyot, has been arrested at the Tyasir CP two days ago at 21:00, by the person responsible for security in the settlement and a group of soldiers who backed him up. M.Z. was held without their calling the police, that is to say, without any legal reason for his arrest, and released at midnight. The excuse was that his herd was too close to the settlement. This is a repeated phenomenon. We saw the same thing in the neighborhood of the B'kaot settlement. Those in charge of security use the authority that they actually do not have and make their own laws in order to keep shepherds away from the settlement fence. The same person in charge of security notified the shepherds that they are not allowed to come closer than four kilometers from the fence. From an officer at the Zaharan DCO we learned that by decision of the local command, the actual distance is only 300 meters. And still, the person in charge of security gets backing from the local army officers to carry out an illegal arrest as punishment. We gave this shepherd and others the telephone number of Zaharan.

On the other hand, we must mention that the Guchiya CP has begun to open exactly on time, since the change of the army unit at Tyasir. This is happening after several months during which it wasn't. One of the commanders, Lieutenant H., whom we met earlier at the CP, promised that from now on the CP will be opened on time.

Za'atara CP (Tapuach Junction) 11.25

There are no inspections. One soldier is in the watchtower at the junction.

Maaleh Efraim CP 11.35:

There are inspections at the entrance to the valley. A taxi is being inspected. The passengers remain seated in the taxi. When we came back at 15:45 there were no soldiers at the CP

Hamra CP. 12.00

Passage is quick. There are no queues. This is a quiet time of the day. In the CP courtyard there is a bachoe and piles of fence parts. Apparently they are going to build a new fence, even though the CP has a good fence on all sides. We have already become used to the fact that the army does not make efforts to save money.

In the encampment opposite the Settlement of Maskiyot, M.Z. tells us that the night before last R., who is in charge of security in the settlement, came there accompanied by a group of soldiers, and they arrested him and brought him to the Tyasir CP, where they kept him for three hours. Details at the beginning of the report.

In this family, the little children study in a school that was opened in Badri's encampment beneath Maskiyot. The older ones study in Tyasir or in Beida. There's busing, and they pay three shekels a day for each child. The school belongs to the Palestinian Authority and is free until the age of 18.

Tyasir CP- 13/15

When we arrived at the CP there were no cars. Lieutenant H. came up to us and we learned from him that the unit of Military Engineers that manned the CP during the last several months has been replaced. And now the place is manned by soldiers from the Kfir Brigade. He promised that he will take care of opening the Guchiya CP according to plan, and that there would be no unnecessary delays.

In the Encampment of K. beneath Maskiyot–

There too, they told us that R., who is in charge of security in the settlement makes trouble for the shepherds and instructs them to stay 4-5 kilometers away from the fence. It is important to note that recently a new fence has been installed in Maskiyot and this fence extends to at least twice the area it enclosed before.

The children here all study in Tyasir. The daughter (16) is studying in a seminar for physical education teachers. The older son studies at the Open University in Tubas, because the University in Nablus is very expensive. They pay NIS4000 per semester. All of them are waiting for rain. That is the 'drug' of life. When will it rain????

GuchiyaCP –

At 15.00 exactly a jeep arrived. Lieutenant H. came in it to make sure that everything is alright. No one come to the gate, because they know that there is no chance that it will open. That has been the situation for the last three months at least. I called Abu Sacher to tell him that we were given a promise that from now on the gate would open as it should, and we asked him to notify people.