'Anabta, 'Azzun, Irtah, Jubara (Kafriat), Mon 3.11.08, Morning
7.20 Irtah. Most of the workers have already passed. Families of prisoners start to pass through to the jails in Israel.
8.00 Jubara. Not much movement but the checking is very pedantic. Even so there is no line.
The road from Ar-Ras and Azzun through Jayush was quiet.
8.50
Azzun is closed and we tried to go through another way. On this road,
next to the factory where they cut stones we saw many army vehicles
which had stopped a Palestinian police car and was questioning the
occupants. We waited and the soldiers tried to send us off. We did not
really go so near because we did not see that our interference would be
of any help and so just waited to see. More army vehicles arrived.
Captains of higher rank so that there were about 20 soldiers. At 9.20
they were freed.
We went on the second road and this took 20 minutes instead of 5 on road 55.
9.45 Qalqiliya. No lines. Hardly any checking.
11.30
Anabta. This has not been a pleasant checkpoint for quite some time
and here one sees the power of the soldiers who act as they want to.
At Beit Iba the taxi drivers complained that the soldiers at Anabta act with a lack of respect and it
especially hurts them when they see how they act with the young women (
the students in the taxis) and the soldiers laugh at them and look at
them. They also say that the soldiers also ask for "small" bribes,
falafel, etc. A driver said that yesterday, 2.11.2008, people waited
two hours in line.
When
we arrived there was a long line at the exit from Tulkarm, at least 25
cars. I came closed to photograph taking care not to photograph the
soldiers who were not very welcoming. They asked what I was
photographing and when I said the line the commander said to his
soldiers "Stop checking. She wants a long line." And so they stopped
for 15 minutes. Then they began to check the long line and all the cars
went through without being checked. I phoned the centre and asked to
make a complaint with the naïve hope that maybe if we complain each day
about this company maybe it will be changed.
11.50
Because there was no line there was more time to check each car, to
make people get out of the taxis and to check the IDs opposite the
computer. Try to understand the logic of the security situation.