Jubara

We anticipated a difficult shift as a
result of the last week events - but it was nevertheless very
depressing...

6.45 Tul Karm: The enormous wired electronic gate was closed. The
area was quite empty. No back to back lorries, no pedestrians. When
we got out of our cars we could see at the far end on the other
side "our" old mute man, we tried to explain to the
soldiers his specific case, but no way "The curfew is in order
to upset their routine" said the young soldier. The curfew was
put on, and very strictly no one was to go out or come in. We stood
for twenty minutes in front of the wired fence, helpless, each with
her associations, and than decided to move on to
Jubara.

A similar sight from up the hill approaching the checkpoint was
seen. No taxis, no cars, a few pedestrians...

7.15 Jubara: The soldiers told us again that there is a curfew and
no one may cross in any direction, since last Tuesday (after the
bus explosion in Jerusalem). We approached the few pedestrians, who
were standing at the big blocks of stones being refused to go
through. It turned out that two of them were teachers from Jubara
who needed to go to their school in A rams (5 minutes across from
Jubara, but because of the blockage of roads they have to make this
big detour through the checkpoint) in order to prepare the school
for the beginning of the coming year on the 1st of September. We
approached the soldiers explaining the specific circumstances and
the significance of letting them through. No way. Luckily, a higher
officer arrived in a jeep and with us pleading our case he silently
and hastily let those two teachers go in their car to the school.
More teachers, 10 women and at least that number of men, who had in
their ID written that they were teachers, who came from villages
round Tul Karm and needed to go to various rural schools in that
area, were not let through. We started calling all possible
numbers, which were in our access. Unfortunately we got either no
reply at all, or a recorded answering machine (Yes, even at the
Moked at 8.15), or the answer that the telephone was not valid
anymore. In our desperation we called Ahmed Tibi, who was as
helpless and could give also only the Moked number. Needless to say
how frustrating it was. We tried with another young officer who was
cooperative the previous week and who happened to come by and was
willing to find out at the Tul karm checkpoint with the Ma'tak, but
he left and never showed up again. All we could do was give those
teachers who were standing in the glowering sun (some of the women
pregnant) water bottles which we had with us. Some of them gave up
and left the checkpoint before we had left others stayed in the sun
waiting...

We succeeded to help cross the checkpoint acting as intermediates
between the Palestinians and the soldiers. One case was a tragedy
of a man who came to Jubara from Tul Karm to visit his 80 years old
father and there his wife died and he wanted to get an ambulance to
take her back to Tul Karm. Another was a young man who worked for
two weeks in Jubara and wanted to get back home to Tul Karm. Also
during this shift 3 ambulances were let through after a more strict
check up and one red cross car with medical goods was turned down
and sent back. Other pedestrians like merchants worker who did have
permits were refused to go through, However ineffective in the real
help they needed, we were there to enable them let some steam off
and sympathies with this atrocious circumstances...