'Anabta, Jubara (Kafriat), Qalqiliya, Mon 13.4.09, Afternoon

Jubara

A soldier from the “Te’enim”
roadblock takes the key and opens the gate to Jubara when we ask him
to. He does not ask any questions or make any remarks. We drive through
the village to the Children’s Gate. Four soldiers at the checkpoint
next to the open gate are waiting for water to be brought to them. There
is no traffic leaving or entering the village. At a distance we see
the cars from Tulkarem and Eliya on the lower road.  

Anabta

The bulldozers are busy working
by the roadblock. A car is blocking the road and the cars are driving
on the dirt road, which has been prepared for this purpose. There is
only one lane, and every few minutes the traffic in one direction is
let through. The bulldozer is digging a ditch as wide as the road. We
asked one of the workers: “What are you doing here?” “A roadblock
the way it should be”, was his answer. “Why?” we kept on asking,
and quite amazed he answered: “What’s the question? There are settlements
around here”, and he pointed in the direction of Einav.  

14.45

An exchange of soldiers. The
traffic stops for a few minutes. The lines are getting longer. It is
very hot today. Again the soldiers start making signs to the cars to
drive through. When the cars drive towards Tulkarm no check is being
performed. The cars leaving Tulkarm are being checked. The soldiers
stop a cab full with passengers for quite some time on the side of the
road. Evidently, one of the women does not feel well so she gets out
of the car. We approach the cab. One of the soldiers asks if he can
be of any help. “We want to know what has happened to the woman”,
and he says: “She’s waiting for the cab”, and even before we have
time to cross the road the soldiers release the cab together with the
woman. They continue to let the cars through.  

15.00

There is a lot of traffic in
both directions and the lines are long. It is impossible to see the
end of the line from the north. The line towards Tulkarm continues
to the south beyond the junction. We counted about twenty cars. Anyway,
two police cars are parking by the narrow road and the policemen are
standing outside supervising the traffic. 

Qalqiliya

There is hardly any traffic going
into the town or leaving it. The reason may be the closure that has
been imposed on the West Bank.