Hamra (Beqaot), Tayasir

10:10 to 12:10

10:10  Bezeq Checkpoint We passed.

The sky is gray. It is less hot. Many military vehicles. Tanks on transporters.

The slope to Tayasir Checkpoint:  many squills in bloom.

Tayasir Checkpoint: free passage. In the abandoned military camp in front of the checkpoint there is evident bustle. A vehicle, a van, a touring minibus, and a truck identified by the expert beside me as carbide (cell connection). The garbage container, known as frog, is still full and the garbage spreads around.

Aqaba: in the center of the village a new wide road is being paved. Haj Sami was in a meeting so we just said hi. One of the workers said that since last week the place is quiet.

Alon Road: There are soldiers in two of the training areas.

Hemdat Settlement we could see the flock of H'alt Makhul from far away so we decided to go up to the settlement. A sign at the entry says that it was established as a Nahal military settlement in 1979 and became civilian in 1997. The signs at the intersection herald the absorption of new families and expansion. The settlement gate opened as soon as we arrived, we didn’t even see if the guard at the gate was a civilian or a soldier. There is a good view toward the Jordan Valley. We saw the pre-army preparatory Hemdat Judea and the laborers building the extension.

From the road going up to the settlement one can clearly see the training base of the Kfir recruits as well as the observation point (Ein Zoka Reserve), from where you can observe every movement that occurs at H'alt Makhul and el H'didih.