Haris, Huwwara, Kifl Harith, Za'tara (Tapuah), Tue 22.5.12, Morning
When we arrived in Za’tara we saw cars in the parking lot surrounded by soldiers.
We approached and saw a driver seated off to the side, his car being searched by a dog which went through it thoroughly: the trunk, under the hood, the passenger compartments. Meanwhile another driver was removed from his car which the dog also searched thoroughly.
The searches lasted about 20 minutes; then the drivers’ documents were returned and they were permitted to drive on.
We had the impression that Palestinians were being delayed in order to give the dogs practice. When we returned via the same route we saw the process continuing; the checkpoint was manned and from time to time cars were diverted to be searched.
An army jeep at Huwwara was parked at the entrance to Beita. On our way we saw another jeep driving toward Yizhar. The checkpoint wasn’t manned.
A civilian police officer – apparently a traffic policeman – stood at the entrance to Kifl Hars.
The women again awaited us in Hars; we gave English and knitting lessons.
A 24 year old woman with Down syndrome visits the club regularly. It’s the home of one of the women who’s learning English. She’d usually sat doing nothing, and no one related to her. The mother told us there’s no framework for her and nothing for her to do. Nili Fischer, an occupational therapist, visited her once at the family’s home. She was very happy and very much wished the visits to continue. The woman’s difficult situation pained us greatly; we decided to do something about it. We brought her beads and coloring books. Recently Yehudit started teaching her elementary weaving techniques using plastic bags and fabric remnants on simple plastic netting.
The result is amazing. The woman glows; she’s begun painting her nails, greets us happily, shakes our hand – she’s become an active participant in the club…