Habla, Isbeth Salman

The contempt for the Palestinians, who are not seen as human beings, is out of place and makes one bitter. It’s inconceivable that our good children are being educated this way. Our conclusion is that the occupation corrupts and make children forget what is a human being.

According to the director of the film “Lord of the Flies,” which portrays children who land on a lonely island after a plane crash, and shows how quickly they forget their education and culture and turn into savages, the most difficult thing was that the child actors, in real time, turned into savages even faster than in the script. Same with the Occupation.

12:50 Isbeth Salman 1447 Checkpoint

8 people are already waiting on the Oranit side, and cars are waiting on the other side. The Palestinians who are waiting complain that only one gate is open to Isbeth Salman and Azzun Atma and they need to walk several kilometers to their fields. In general, they live in a prison.

The gate opens on time and when the Palestinians all go through, the commander hurries them in order to quickly close the gate, so as not to be late opening the gate at the Habla checkpoint. The minute the soldiers were there, the Palestinians, who were sitting under an awning, got up and went out into the sun. “Sit down,” we say, “the gate isn’t open yet.” “The soldiers won’t let us,” they say.  They must stand in the sun, even during Ramadan. Then the soldiers come out of the car and confirm the words of the Palestinians that it is forbidden to sit under the awning. “What were they thinking? The shade is for us.” Our comments, that they are also human beings and are fasting on top of that, fall on deaf ears. This is our land and we determine what’s what. In the meantime, a telephone call to the DCO (District Civil Liaison Office) with a request to direct the soldiers how to behave, doesn’t produce results.

One person, among those who request to cross to the West Bank, was unable to say exactly where he had entered and also, because his documents apparently weren’t anything proper or official, he is detained. Because he arrived at closing time, it was determined that he had entered Israel ilegally. However, they let him to go on his way home.

A female soldier in torn pants said that a Palestinian threw her down the day before and therefore she had good reason to be angry with them. How come a Palestinian was so angry that he threw her down, she didn’t say.

13:35 Habla Checkpoint

The gates were already open (by the soldiers who arrived from Isbeth Salman) and there were many waiting to cross, in both directions. Some of them were returning from work earl, because of the fast, and others were perhaps leaving late for the same reason. G., whom we know, who crosses every day at least once, complained to us about a soldier who, two days ago, was angry with him and took the whip from G.’s wagon, and threatened him with it, pushed him and then hit him with the barrel of his rifle. G. was injured in a number of places on his body. G. lifts his shirt and his whole chest, arm pits and arms were covered with bruises from internal bleeding and from open wounds. Appalling! And G. did not complain. There is nothing to do about soldiers like that.

A man from one of the nurseries asks to cross quickly in his car in order to have enough time to unload its contents, blocks of Styrofoam, and to load it with plants, and return in time. His request isn’t granted and the soldiers refuse him passage. He claims that he has a permit from the DCO but the soldiers demand that the DCO call them. A phone call from us to the DCO doesn’t help much and the attempt to reach the person at the DCO who is supposed to take care of this fails, as always. He never answers. It would be interesting to know what he does. At a certain point an officer arrives and after a long discussion between him, the owner of the truck, who also owns the nursery, and also A., who is in charge of the problems with the nurseries in the area, the driver of the loaded pick-up truck is allowed to pass. However, it is already too late to return before the gate is closed. Another person who arrives 5 minutes after the gate closing, although the gate is still open, receives a lecture that he is late every day and they won’t allow him to pass. What a life!