Beit Iba, יום א' 4.5.08, בוקר

  Beit Iba. 07:45. There is little movement but  went fairly quickly. Reservists are on duty and we were asked to speak only to the commander.

Every now and again another line was opened for women and the elderly. When the line again becomes one the sign is given by a floor mop. Men only are checked randomly. There are  no  detainees. The owner of the kiosk asks us to help a worker who only speaks Arabic and needs treatment in an Israeli hospital. We gave him the telephone of the Doctors for Human Rights.  

07.46      A wooded area and a garden nursery near Jerusalem. When we went into the side lane on the east of the road which leads to the area which is covered in trees it turned out that this is a sport and recreation center wide and looked after which was built 15 years ago by the residents of the area. For the last 7 years the place has not been used  as people do not want to have to go through all the checkpoints which are on their way. The place is now fenced in and guarded by a local family. Next to it is a nursery for vegetables and flowers.  The owners, three brothers from Nablus work with local farmers and with Israelis. The checkpoints and bureaucracy make life very hard for them.  There is no possibility of getting a permit to enter Israel or the Jordan valley for them or their vehicles.  One brother had a permit to enter Israel and the other the Jordan valley. The transport of plants through the trade passage is difficult because plants are damaged if there is any delay in the passage. The Israeli farmers do not go to the nursery often because they are afraid.  The owner showed us the damage that has been done to the hothouses by the inhabitants of Chomesh. He has a picture showing this. Now he is busy repairing the damage. .