'Anabta, Eyal, Irtah, Jubara (Kafriat), Sun 24.8.08, Morning
Eyal Passage
07:00 – The parking lot is crowded with cars of employers waiting for workers. Hundreds of people waiting to enter Israel can be seen on the other side of the passage. The passage was presumably opened very late and part of the workers will not make it to work.
Irtah
07:15 – All the workers have passed. Some of the Palestinians are waiting to enter the DCO [District Coordination Office] in order to get permits of one kind or another.
Jubara
07:20 – A soldier comes languidly to open the gate for us. At both gates
the traffic flows fast without any special delays.
On the gate at the entrance to Jubara and on the army concrete blocks at the Agriculture Workers' Gate and also in different places at Ar-Ras checkpoint, there are placards that we have already seen before in pictures from Beit Iba, on which, written in big letters, are the words "Many thanks to MachsomWatch for their help in our struggle", signed Terrorist Organizations.
We ask the soldiers that are standing near the Agriculture Gate about these placards. According to the soldiers, Blue and White women [right wing activists] come and bring them refreshment, talk and laugh with them, so, they explain, to shaw their gratitude they allow them to paste these placards. "If you have more questions," they add, ask the commanders."
On our way back, we take off the placard pasted on the entrance gate to Jubara.
We call A., the company commander, and he says that he is familiar with this thing and that he also punished one of the soldiers for not taking them off. We add that we haven't known that IDF facilities are actually the settlers' advertising board and if they are, maybe MachsomWatch can also use them to promote itself.
Anabta
08:00 – No lines. In both directions the passage is open.