'Anabta, Jubara (Kafriat), Qalqiliya, Tue 21.10.08, Morning

Natanya translating.

6.35 Shaar Efraim is deserted except for the army. Groups of pupils along the road on their way to school.

At the checkpoint of Qalqiliya a mule cart passes immediately. Cars also go through to Qalqiliya very quickly. From the direction of Qalqiliay it goes more slowly. The commander, a captain, noticed our prescence. "You only go to big checkpoints and this is just a gate and there is no closure. We asked, why are you here?  And his answer is,"So that they should not blow you up in Tel Aviv." I said, "You let everyone through very quickly, no one is stopped and so exactly how are you protecting us?" He says that they are not checking the people but only those whom they have on a list of wanted suspects.

8.20 Anabta. At the entrance to Tulkarm are few and at the exit are 10 cars waiting and the passage is slow. A soldier sits on a cement block cleaning his nails. Now and again he lifts his head in the direction of a car and motions it tiredly to pass. The commander tells him to get down and stand which he does but continues cleaning his fingernails.

8.50 The checkpoint of Jubara. A sergeant comes up to us to open the gate. At the children's gate soldiers are sitting alone, no one passes A soldier motions us to stop and another asks why we have no flag.

A-Ras. The little traffic streams past. 5 young men ni a car are stopped for their documents to be checked and after someone has been consulted, we are not sure who, they go on their way. Besides them few cars are stopped. It seems that the fact that they were five men and young arouses suspicion.

Back to Jubara.  It takes much hooting before anyone comes to open the gate. Three arrive, a first sergeant and two corporals. I say to Shlomit that we are being treated like queens.  The first sergeant, with a blond beard and a slight Russian accent, asks why we have no flag. Shlomit says they should pay more attention to the locked gate because there is an elderly man who lives there. And there could be an emergency situation.

THE SERGEANT REPLIES: THEN AN AMBULANCE CAN COME FROM THERE (pointing towards Tulkarm)  AND IF NOT THERE IS A CEMETRY NEAR HERE.