Rihan

Rihan, Sunday, November 28, 2004, AMObservers: Ana N.-S., Chasida S. (reporting)08:45 - 11:30We parked in the new and beautiful parking lot and got out straight onto the fenced walking track, on which we walked about 200 meters until we reached the inspection post. A female soldier sat at a table on which there were coats and other articles. Near her were two male soldiers. Two Palestinian boys were inspected and went into West Bank territory.In the shed, on the opposite side, there were about 20 Palestinians waiting. They held work permits for olive picking. One of them told me that he owns nurseries in the area of Barta'a, where he grows vegetables and fruits, not olives. According to the soldiers and the District Coordination Office (DCO) representative, the olive picking season has ended, and therefore there is no passage for agriculture workers with permits. Only members of the Amarna family were granted permits to work in olive picking, as for the rest, the season was over.From the southern side of the fence, we saw Palestinians picking olives, but the DCO representative claimed that the DCO people do not recognize the area and are not familiar with agricultural seasons, and if they say the olive picking season is over, it is a sign that the season is indeed over. One Palestinian said, "From this side (south) there are few olives and many people, and on the other side there are many olives and only a few people."We made quite a few attempts to contact the DCO, but to no avail. At 10:00, Ana was promised that the DCO would send an officer who would go with each farmer to his orchard, and if indeed there were some olives, they would lengthen the permit for as long as needed. We asked the Palestinians to wait (some gave up, because they had been waiting since the early hours of the morning.) At 11:00 we were told that the officer was leaving just now. At 11:30 we left. There was no sign of that officer. The observers in the shift that followed ours saw no sign of the officer either.