Khirbet 'Isla Checkpoint) 1231, Ras Tira East Checkpoint (1263), Ras Tira North Checkpoint (1327)

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The aim of the tour is to visit the seasonal gates during opening hours (according to the timetable given by the army) and to converse with the farmers who go through the gates. With this in view we coordinated in advance with S. from Habla who served as a guide.

Khirbet Isla 1231

We arrived at 07:50. The gate was opened at 07:45. It turned out that the opening hours were 07:45-08:00. Eight people passed through (according to the reports of the soldiers), and when we arrived the gates were just being locked. There were no other people around who wished to cross.

Owing to S. we took a shortcut by way of the fields and took the road between Azun and Th'lat, and near Th'lat we went down to the right to the Ras Tira East 1263 Gate.

We arrived at 8:14 and waited till 08:25. When the gates were not opened we phoned the DCO and were promised that according to their information the gate would be opened this morning. At 08:40 we left in order to be in time for the next gate. There were no farmers at the gate and we didn't manage to enter the village of Th'lat to find out whether that was because they didn't know the gates would be opened to Harish, or for other reasons.

We crossed Th'lat in the direction of Ras Atiya and Ras Tira. On the streets of Th'lat  the red flags of Ja'bhat A-Nussera fluttered. Children roamed in the vlllage because of the teachers' strike, but no signs of  unrest were felt, and no Palestinian policemen were to be seen. They crowded together at the entrances and exits of bigger settlements, like Azun for instance.

We passed the tranquil villages of El Madwar, Izbat Al Eshqar, Izbat Salaman and Ras Atiya to Ras Tira.

 Ras Tira North 1327

Opening hours: 9:10-9:25

We arrived at 09:13 and found that the gate was locked. There were no people waiting there nor in the vicinity.

We returned by way of Habla and met S.'s friends, who were polite and cordial and welcomed us over a glass of tea, pitot and za'atar. The conversation revolved around the evil racist spirit existing in Israeli society. As one of them said: Once there was tension between you and us on the basis of nationalistic issues, there were arguments over lands, Jews versus Arabs, but now it is a racial issue. We are black and you are white. Once he used to work in Israel and to walk around Tel Aviv from time to time; now he is afraid.

At  A.'s plant nursery  we found him watering the plants and fuming about the humiliating attitude of the soldier who cursed him and spit on him, pointed his weapon at him and endangered his life when he crossed the CP with his 13 year old son. The other soldiers stood and watched this, but did not interfere.