Morning

8:30AM. The checkpoint is quiet, few people trying to pass. A truck driver who has passed 8 different check points since he left Hebron at 4:30 is almost turned back, but eventually the soldiers let him complete his journey to Tulkarm. People with blue ID who are coming back from the territories to Israel and those with green or orange ID who are coming back from Israel to Tulkarm are allowed through. Almost all the others are refused passage. The soldier says that there is closure today. He has been here all weekend, and there was closure during all that time. Some Israeli Palestinian later tell us that yesterday the checkpoint was closed till 11:30, but then everyone was allowed to pass. Most of the people who want to pass from Israel want to visit relatives at Far'on, a nearby village visable from the checkpoint. They frequently pass, but not today. A young woman with a baby is returning to Far'on after having her baby examined at Meir Hospital. She has a blue ID and she is married to a man from Far'on. The soldiers will only let her pass if she shows them a paper confirming her marriage. With tears in her eyes (her baby is getting restless, and she has more children waiting at home) she calls her husband to bring the paper to the checkpoint. After an hour, when the paper gets there, it turns out to be unsatisfactory, because in Arabic. While we attempt to help, the woman, Lynda, gives up and decides to try a different path. An old lady with a big parcel tied in a blanket is allowed to pass to Israel, but a bag of za'atar (a spice herb) is confiscated and thrown to the garbage because it is a protected plant. When we leave, about 40 people are waiting to pass from Israel to Far'on and Tulkarm. They don't give up leave even though the soldier tells them that they are wasting their time.