'Anin, Reihan, Shaked, Thu 6.9.12, Afternoon
Translation: Naomi Gal
14:50 Anincheckpoint
Customs at a checkpoint(?)
Soldiers are already busy opening the checkpoint on time (13:00). About two dozens people and half a dozen tractors are waiting to enter the barrier and go home to their village of Anin.
One tractor driver is not allowed to carry across two used plastic chairs, and has to leave them outside the checkpoint, next to the shed. This is merely the preview. Another tractor driver arrives, there are a few chairs (used ones as well) in his tractor’s trailer, an old stove and some old curtains androds. The soldiers immediately forbid him to cross over with the chairs and stove and he has to abandon them in the shed. He tries passing the curtains, but those, too, are forbidden. He returns to the shed to leave the curtains.
We asked the commander, a second lieutenant, what's wrong with taking chairs and used curtains to `Anin. The answer: they are not agricultural goods: it’s not olives, not olive oil nor almonds. Transferring merchandise that’s not agriculture requires special coordination at Reihan checkpoint. The officer asked us if we visited lately an airport, and if we were aware that you have to pay duty when transferring goods from one country to another. Here, he stresses, we are moving goods from “blue zone” ("ours", Israeli) to “red zone” ("enemy"). We were puzzled and asked if he was aware of the fact that both the red AND the blue are Palestinian zones, which means moving goods from Palestine to Palestine. No, he said he was not aware. According to him the blue zone is Israel. An officer!
15:45 Shaked-Torra
There is hardly any traffic at this time.
16:10 Riehan-Barta`a, the Palestinian side
The parking lot is crowded. A few taxis are on their way to the West Bank.
16:30 Rihan-Barta`a, the seam zoon side
A new drinking fountain has been installed in the small playground.
Many workers go down the metal sleeve
to the terminal. Two windows are active and manage the flow of people and there are no lines on the way home, to the West Bank. There are no delays even when some people pass to the other side.
Someone complains about the difficulties of crossing over in the morning at Irtach checkpoint (entering into Israel) in the center of the west bank. He says that every day he and many others have to go through a second inspection in the inner rooms.
17:05 Getting back to the upper parking lot we met a delegation of German youngsters and their Israeli guide. As part of their tour in Israel and the occupied territories they are visiting this checkpoint and would visit another one in Jerusalem (Qalandia?). They said that in Jerusalem they would meet a representative of Machsom-Watch.