'Anabta, Ar-Ras, Azzun, Jit, Jubara (Kafriat), Qalqiliya, Mon 7.4.08, Morning
Eliyahu Passage
06:45 – A line of about 20 cars at the entrance to Israel, including Israeli Arabs and Palestinians working in the seam-line, in Alfe Menashe, for example. Settlers' cars pass swiftly, of course. There is a long line of workers, pedestrians, with permits to work in the seam-line. Workers from that region who own working permits in Israel must enter Qalqiliya and go through Eyal Passage.
Qalqiliya
06:50 – The way into and out of Qalqiliya are free. On the way out of the city they occasionally stop a car for a brief question, but there is no line. At the entrance to the city, cars with Israeli licence plates are checked once in a while and details are compared with a list but that, too, is very fast.
07:05 – We leave.
The passage at Izbet Tabib is open and, as far as we can see, also the road ahead along the old road 55.
07:05 - The entrance to Azzun is closed for cars, but we have seen pedestrians climbing the earth rampart, passing through the barbed wire spirals and going out to the road.
17:20 – At Shvut Ami no traffic can be observed but the entry road to the construction isn't blocked, of course, as it is in Azzun, for example.
Jit junction is open.
We drive on to Beit Iba.
Anabta
09:25 – Neither at the entrance nor at the exit is there a line. From time to time one car is checked more thoroughly, but while the documents are checked on the computer, they let other cars pass and this is why there is no line. The coffee seller complains that yesterday as he was trying to sell coffee to the people waiting in the long lines that were in both directions, a Hummer came and the soldiers drove him away, spilled the coffee and beat him. He is disabled and has to support 5 children from what he gets selling coffee at the checkpoint. Once in a while a short line is created on the way out but the soldiers go on with the checks and the line gets shorter.
09:40 – We leave.
Jubara
10:00 – At our request, Jubara gate is opened. Along the road the Altheas bloom in bright pink.
Ar-Ras
10:00 – The passage from the direction of Qalqiliya is free. Cars that come from the direction of Tulkarm are occasionally checked. The trunk and the passengers' compartment are searched and questions like 'where from' and 'where to' are asked, but all in all the passage is quick.
An old man who asks to pass to Jubara is refused.
On the way back, at gate 753, the documents and the belongings of a young man, probably an "illegal" [in Israel without a residence permit], are checked. We don't stop.
10:30 – We leave to go back home.