Rihan

Rihan, Sunday, December 19, 2004, AMObservers: Ana N-S., Carmel B., Chasida S. (reporting)09:00-10:00Attitude: Between insulting toughness and hospitality.There is no passage of agriculture workers and other workers, but they do allow passage to Arab Israelis and merchandise.We arrived at the checkpoint through Barta'a, using the security road. The new road has yet to be opened to traffic. The entrance to the West Bank is now permitted to all Israeli residents, including Arabs.At the parking lot stood a vehicle carrying about 20 jerrycans of olive oil. Another vehicle came along and loaded 5 containers onto it, because more than that quantity is not allowed to be transferred on one trip. That vehicle went back and forth several times, each time loading 5 containers. The soldiers watched the process and inspected the same drivers, over and over again. In that fashion they transfer vegetables and other merchandise. In comparison with last week, when even this long process wasn't allowed, we saw an improvement. Later on, we met the battalion commander, who gave us the army's view on how to handle the matter. It appears that not all junior commanders understand the military position.In the parking lot waits a car whose owner makes his living by driving people to and from the checkpoint: the old problem of lack of means to earn a living. This is a chicken-and-egg question: The CP prevents terrorist activity, but creates bitterness which evokes terrorist activity. How does one break this vicious cycle ?At the pedestrian inspection post, we were greeted with this comment: "Oh, here comes the media and the criticism." The CP commander refused to talk to us and hardly gave his name. "Stand aside and do not interrupt," he said. There were no people who wanted to cross the gate and there was nothing for us to interrupt.We went down to the Palestinian side of the CP and watched, on that side, the transfer of merchandise, breaking each load into 5 containers for each round. The drivers going back and forth with the 5 containers/boxes each time, seemed to be the only people profiting from the process.The vehicle inspection is quick. This is where we met the battalion commander, the company commander and the representative of the District Coordination Office (DCO).As opposed to his soldiers, the battalion commander was hospitable to us and said that in his view it is good that there is "criticism" of more mature observers. He explained that the 5-box policy is a way to ease the inspection. More boxes will require more soldiers and there are not enough. Why isn't there a back-to-back process here, that could have solved the problem?The answer given to us is that the matter is not in the hands of the army.