Hamra (Beqaot), Ma'ale Efrayim, Tayasir, Za'tara (Tapuah), Thu 11.7.13, Morning

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Observers: 
דפנה בנאי ונור בר-און (מדווחת)
Jul-11-2013
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Morning

The Palestinian JordanValey

Thursday, 11.7.13

Observers: Daphne Banai and Nur Car-On (reporting)

 

11:10 Zaatara (Tapuach) Checkpoint – manned to inspect traffic coming from the north. Five vehicles waiting in line, two vehicles standing by the roadside, two soldiers securing the hitchhikers’ stop southbound.

 

11:25 Maale Efrayim Checkpoint – four soldiers manning the post.

 

11:50 Hamra (Bekaot) Checkpoint – traffic crossing without inspection, each vehicle approaches checking post, stopping there for a bit, and proceeds.

 

12:15 We visited what was left of the Salamin family encampment in Al Hadidiyah. Two weeks ago the tents were demolished. The family put them up again and on Monday last, July 8th, at 5:30 a.m., while the children were still asleep, they were demolished again. We see the metal rods on the ground and the bits of cloth left of the tent itself. Among the rubble we see remains of a babyinfo-icon’s crib (there are two babies living there), pieces of tin that were used to fence off the sheep pen and a water tanker. Usable remains have been gathered under the tree in an improvised encampment. (According to the OCHA report of July 12th, the Israeli army destroyed 32 structures in Al Hadidiyah and Ras Al Ahmar, leaving 48 persons homeless, including 13 children).

 

13:00 – We proceeded to Al Hadidiya, here we heard of a failed attempt to dig a cistern for rainwater storage. Water supply is a major problem for the tent dwellers in the Palestinian Jordan Valley, especially in the summer months. Abu Saker tries to dig such a cistern for using water that is wasted in any case. The Civil Administrationinfo-icon destroys this cistern. Abu Saker also told us that soldiers ignited the nature reserve at Um Zuka. We passed there and photographed the remains of that fire.

 

14:00 Tyassir Checkpoint – no pedestrian crossing. This is a great relief. Passengers need not disembark and cross on foot and the driver need not wait for them on the other side of the checkpoint. We asked about special instructions for the Ramadan month. The soldiers’ answer: “Keep calm”.