Beit Amin Checkpoint (1447), Habla Checkpoint (1393), Nabi Ilyas

Our first stop is Nebi Elias. Leora, as an emissary of Silvia’s crew, meets a Palestinians who is barred from entering Israel. In the meantime, we go shopping in the neighborhood and peep into the nearby butcher shop. Its owner tells us that for the sake of the people of Alfey Menashe a rabbi arrives on holidays to check the “kashrut” of the meats.

Four Israeli men enter the falafel restaurant and I ask them where they come from and what they are doing at Nebi Samuel.  Their reply: They came to take care of the olive trees which hinder the construction of the new settler road. Are you uprooting olive trees? I ask. No, we prune them and prepare them to be transferred to a new site. (where exactly?) Who sent you? We are sub-contractors of a sub-contractor. And who pays you, who ordered the work? We have no idea who ordered the work . Again land robbery and again uprooting of olive trees.

From here to Azun to deliver parcels. We meet Z. in his shop, and his eyes are red. He hasn’t slept since Rahel told him yesterday about Zvia’s accident. I tell him: Zvia is like a mother for you. And he replies much much more than a mother.

From Azun we turn southward to locate checkpoints that are less known to us. By way of El-Modwar we arrive at a closed gate. Is this the reverse side of the Beit Amin South no. 1447 gate? If so it should be opened at 12:45 and we find it closed. It probably is not this one. But how can one check if there is neither name nor number on it?

A new quarter is being built at Oranit; the earth-mover works at full power, very near the closed gate. At the next shift, we shall try to get to the checkpoint by way of Oranit.

We continue to the Abu Salman North (Near Jalud) No. 1419 gate. The gate is not supposed to be open at noon but only mornings and afternoons. From the gate, one sees the communal settlement Nirit.

T. from Jalud, 66 years old, comes towards us. When he finished high school he intended to study journalism but his father fell ill and he, as the oldest son, had to undertake the support of his family. Since then he has worked in Israel, learned Hebrew, including reading and writing, and worked as a builder, but read a lot and had many interests and became well versed in the history of the Middle East. Vivy will return to record him on video as he is a fascinating and eloquent man.

He works at Kfar Saba as a building manager and his wife works during the season at strawberry picking at Gan Haim. Their children are grown up, they left home, and he and his wife have a nice income, travel abroad and have a good time.

The last station – Habla checkpoint 1393. At 13:50 everything is already calm. Most of the Palestinians have passed.

A pedestrian passage to the checking post – Habla                                                                                   

It is nice to see the container in which we usually wait together with the Palestinians for its opening. Today we arrive from the direction of Habla and not from the direction of the plant nurseries

14:15 The Eliyahu Passage – three Palestinian cars are at the checking post. The traffic flows.