'Anabta, 'Azzun, Ar-Ras, Jubara (Kafriat), Qalqiliya, Mon 12.1.09, Morning
06:55 Elija Gate
The vehicles' queue is not long either.
07:00 Qalqiliya
No queue at all. Only cars with Israeli number plates are checked against a list.
07:20 Azzun
The entrance to Azzun is open. We got the impression that there were very few vehicles on the roads but at the Funduk all the shops are open. Children are on the way to school and everything seems normal.
09:40 Anabta
Cars are waiting at the entrance. The entrance lane is closed with concrete blocks so that the cars have to alternate going through from either direction.
10:00 Jubara, (Figs Passage)
Cars are waiting at the entrance; documents are inspected, and a commercial vehicle is inspected more thoroughly by the side of the checkpoint. Settlers fly through. We go through the settlers' entrance and ask a soldier to open the gate to the village for us. The soldier asks who we are and opens the gate.
Gate 753 - the soldiers waive us through.
10:15 A-ras
A few bored reserve soldiers, (more numerous than usual) are happy to see us, willing to start a political debate. We are not...
The checkpoint commander asks us who is responsible for repairing the road, and when we answer that in our opinion the army is responsible for it because it is within the checkpoint area, they all laugh. Even Osnat's argument that an occupying army is reponsible for the welfare of the occupied does not appeal to their amused viewpoint.
10:40 We leave.