Falamiya North Checkpoint (914), Falamiya South Checkpoint (935)

Falamiya North

6:00 - People waiting next to the gate;  the soldiers are already there, but haven't opened yet.

The main crop here is za'atar, in addition to which they grow all kinds of vegetables.  Sheep - some people have sheep next to their houses and others keep the flock in the fields on the other side of the gate.  So, some family member has to sleep there at night.  Five minutes later, the gate opened and a cry is heard from far off to enter.  Groups of 5 get organized.  The usual scenes of the occupation take place:  people show their entry permits and then their IDs, to the soldier at the entrance (also their bags of food), continue to the booth where they read out loud the ID number to ensure that they return the same day.  The tractors wait outside the gate until the people come back and then take them inside and then they are also inspected.

Today there were 15 tractors, 3 cars and one donkey.

Falamiya South

7:00 - They opened the gate.  Now there are 5 tractors, a car and a few people.  During the half an hour since the gate opened, other tractors arrive.  The soldier next to the gate wanted to know who we are and what our purpose is.  A worker who stood next to ous summarized "They are in favor of peace".  He said, "I am also in favor of peace".  We added, "We are against the occupation and against the checkpoints".  Meanwhile, another 4 tractors arrived.  One car was parked outside and its owner told us that he suffers from leg pain, but he wasn't able to get a permit for his car so he is joining on one of the tractors.

When we thought that the shift had eneded, we started to leave.  Suddenly, we heard a voice calling to us from far off, "Shalom".  We turned around and saw that it was the soldier with whom we had talked previously, something which doesn't happen often!