'Azzun, 'Azzun 'Atma, Ar-Ras, Habla, Jayyus, Jubara (Kafriat), Kufr Jammal, Wed 8.5.13, Morning

Azun Atma Checkpoin

06:00 – It is foggy outside.   About 60 people  are waiting in line, but more people are arriving, so the line does not diminish.  A device has been installed outside the inspection facility that reads people's permits and scans fingerprints.   A commotion breaks out in the line and the military police respond by stopping the inspection until things calm down: i.e. until people stand quietly in line.   A few minutes after we called attention to this the checks resumed.    Meanwhile the line grew until there were close to 100 people waiting.   When we left Azun Atma we saw an army vehicle a few hundred meters from the checkpoint  and Palestinians sitting next to it and another car.   We found out that these were people who had remained in Israel illegally, and saw the hole in the fence.

Habla Checkpoint

07:00 – The line is not long and people are being checked in groups of five as usual.  A tractor with a sprayer and a large truck with a crane are carefully checked.  At 07:20 a bus carrying children arrives  and the driver is checked as well as the bus.   A wagon with two donkeys arrives.  The driver is checked and the donkeys wait like well-behaved children.  A minibus carrying boys arrives and the driver is checked.  The truck with the crane comes back carrying rolls of sod.   

We drove to Jubara to see the fence that has been removed. 

09:00 – The Road to Azun, Jiyus, Jamal Kfar Sur, and Aras: We arrived at the place where the children's gate at Jubara had once been and saw for ourselves how the decision of the High Court of Justice had been carried out.  There were Israeli Arabs, Israeli workers, and managers.  One of the managers said he had been the supervisor of the repairs that have beendone on the separation barrier for the past ten years.  He admitted that the separation barrier is a huge waste of money and does nothing for security.   The soldiers guarding the civilians  are bored, and the discussion with us relieved their boredom.   We felt elated: what was being done there was the demolition of the perimeter road.  We were permitted to drive into Jubara.  When we reached the other gate it was closed.  We returned to the "fig gate" via the perimeter road, which was already partially demolished.   An army vehicle arrived before we did and the soldiers said we had come from Jubara  and we therefore had to be checked.  A discussion then took place about what were areas A, B., and C,  and the woman soldier who claimed that Jubara was a red area went to work, checking the trunk, the motor, the gas tank, the car, and our bags.   All our claims did not help.