'Anin, Barta'a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked
Why did the number of people passing here decrease?
15:10 – Agricultural Checkpoint, Anin (Open only two days a week for 20 minutes in the morning and afternoon)
The soldiers are already here, but they are waiting to open the gate of the checkpoint at exactly 15:15. Eight people and one tractor wait to return to the village. We were told that today only a few people went out because of the rain.
People on foot pass quickly. One tractor’s load is strictly inspected (old furniture). A boy from A’anin, who went out in the morning from the distant Barta’a Checkpoint, is trying to return home through here. Ordinarily, people are allowed to return home only through the checkpoint they have left from in the morning. After consulting by phone, they let the boy pass.
15:35 – Tura Checkpoint
A few cars pass quickly in both directions. Four workers return to the West Bank and an empty truck passes to the West Bank without any delay. One worker tells us that in Daher el-Malek (a Palestinian village beyond the separation fence, near the checkpoint) an elementary school has opened with six classes, which is why we see fewer students at the checkpoint in the morning. The upper-grade children continue to study in Tura. According to him, they prefer to study in the school in Tura (in the West Bank), rather than at Umm Reihan (in the Seamline Zone) because of its proximity to the village and because there is less traffic on the short road, and the pupils walk to school.
15:45 – Barta’a Checkpoint
Lately, the number of people returning to the West Bank from work in Israel and the Seamline Zone has greatly decreased. Is this because of the rain? Is it because of the decrease in the number of permit renewals? Some of the workers in Israel who are not allowed to leave in the morning from the Barta’a Checkpoint, but rather from the Jalame and Taiba Checkpoints (Ephraim Gate), are allowed to return home from this checkpoint. At least in one direction, they can save time and money.