'Anabta, Ar-Ras, Jubara (Kafriat), Tue 1.7.08, Afternoon
Figs Checkpoint
14:45 – A reservist arrives to open the gate to the village of Jubara. M., a nice and curious soldier, who speaks correct and beautiful Hebrew (got 98 in the Hebrew language matriculation exam), asks us who we are and why we want to enter the village. He is worried about our safety. Yael explains to him the significance of our "visit" and our itinerary. He doesn't seem to understand the significance and invites us to have coffee at the checkpoint, so that we can tell him more about our activities.
On our way back, after observing Ar-Ras checkpoint, he asks us again to sit with him at the checkpoint and explain the reason for our interest in the checkpoint. We explain again the purpose of our visit. He wants to know if we carry weapon for self defence. He is very concerned about our safety. We thank him and continue on our way.
The Schoolchildren's Checkpoint
15:00 – A conspicuous white line stripe is on the road, on which there is something new: a triangle with the inscription: Stop! A checkpoint is in front of you.
Three soldiers are at the checkpoint. There are no civilians her when we arrive. A new, small, white building on the right side of the road gives the soldiers some shade, a place they can hide from the sun, as they say.
Ar-Ras checkpoint
The checkpoint commander welcomes us with a smile.
The southern part of the checkpoint, where till now the cars passed slowly but freely on the right side, is manned by a soldier and the drivers go through an inspection. For us it is a novelty. The traffic is streaming.
15:15 – We say good-bye to M., the soldier from the Figs Checkpoint, who looks disappointed that we are not staying for coffee and he worries about us.
Anabta checkpoint
15:30 – We have been asked to move the car away from the checkpoint without any explanation. We count 26 cars that are standing in line at the checkpoint and the waiting time for each car is 8 minutes, according to our measuring.
15:50 – We leave for Beit Iba.