'Anabta, Wed 1.10.08, Afternoon

17:15  Anabta checkpoint
When we arrived we could see cars entering one by one without waiting, and we counted about 12 cars.  The other, exit lane empties rapidly, without inspections, and we thought that the matter had been dealt with and the problem solved.  We could see part of the empty road on the upward slope before the curve, and every car that joined the end of the line.

17:30  Two soldiers manned the forward booth, the one dealing with entering cars, and two manned the rear booth.  After a few minutes they started chatting with each other, to talk on the phone, and within seconds a line of ten cars had formed at the entry, and there were now 20 cars on line to enter.  They’re passed through without inspection, but they have to wait to be signaled to approach the checkpoint, but they don’t always get a signal.  The soldiers and the officer, who doesn’t stop talking, are busy with other things, and the line grows to 30 cars.  Mil’at calls the humanitarian office and they promise to take care of it.

17:35  Cars are no longer being let through.  The exit line lengthened past the point that was visible to us.  The soldiers are very busy on the phone and in conversations with each other, and then one leaves the booth and goes over to the shack that’s off to the side…and returns with a long stick.  From the movements we can see in the little booth, it looks as if he’s sweeping it!  The second follows him with a squeegee.  The lines get longer and longer, and now the two soldiers in the forward booth start cleaning it.  Mil’at calls Zaharan and the humanitarian office again, and receives the same reply.

17:45  Traffic begins again, in both directions, everyone goes through without being inspected, but one by one.  We waited to see whether the line got shorter, but it didn’t.  It took the last car visible to us 20 minutes to reach the checkpoint, and the line extended beyond that car.  A third call to the humanitarian office.  There doesn’t seem to be any way of fixing the outcome of a ten-minute work stoppage.

18:00  We left.

18:30  Te’anim Gate.  A number of vehicles on line, two lanes open.