Makkabim (Beit Sira), Tue 10.9.13, Morning

Translation: Shelly K.

Dawn` shift

We arrived at the checkpoint at 4:30am. Exactly at the opening time. Within 5 minutes the first people began passing through. All of them said that the average time to pass through was from 5 to 10 minutes.  Except for one comment about the behavior of a security guard, we did not hear any particular complaints. A short conversation with head of the security personnel revealed that due to renovation work on the Nalin Checkpoint (Hashmonaim), hundreds more are now passing through this checkpoint.

The women arrive around 6:45am in organized transport and pass through after most of the workers.

About 6 years ago we wrote a number of complaint letters about the workers unsafe passage on Road #443. Arriving by foot on their way to the checkpoint in the early morning hours the traffic is heavy and at high speeds. The workers must leap over to the other side of the six lane road in a crazy race.  It’s amazing that no one has yet been killed.  At that time the assistant to the GOC Command wrote that “in the near future a pedestrian passage will be built”. It appears that “in the near future” will happen at about the same time as the end of the occupation – not in our lifetime!

Our guests are contemplating joining our organization. We hope they will. We left at 7:00 am after most of the workers had passed through on their way to work.