'Anin, Barta'a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked
Marcia L., Translation
Barta’a- Reihan Checkpoint- 05:25
In the upper parking lot, there are many taxis and people. Many sit on the sides of the road and wait for transportation to work. In the lower parking lot, the waiting area for trucks and vans with merchandise is full. A number of the vans wait in the regular parking area which as yet is not full. At this hour there still isn’t a heavy line to the entrance to the terminal.
05:30 – They activate the second turnstile which, in general, allows women and those going to the West Bank, to pass through. From time to time we hear over the loudspeaker, a security guard who is unseen, saying in basic Hebrew and in a relaxed tone: “One by one, slowly, slowly. Thank you. Good morning.” Further instructions we don’t understand.
05:50 – The line begins to lengthen and fill out. Two young men watch over the order of those entering the turnstiles and prevent pushing. According to the coffee vendor, yesterday (Sunday, 29.05.16), they also activated two turnstiles, which allowed more people to enter the terminal at the same time.
They told us that there were no soldiers at Ya’bed this morning.
A young man told us that they did not allow him to pass through today and before he could identify himself, he was told to go back. He will try a second time to pass through tomorrow; if he has a problem, he will turn to us for help.
06:15 – We left so that we would arrive in time for the Anin Checkpoint. The parking lot was already full and the line alternately got longer and shorter.
Anin Checkpoint 214 – 06:25 – Again a delay in the opening of the gate to the checkpoint!!
At the checkpoint, there are 3 gates
: the eastern one which is close to the Seamline Zone; the central and the lower one which is close to the village. The eastern gate was open, and people entered there. We arrived at the middle, yellow gate, which was closed; the Palestinians waited beyond the lower gate in the direction of Anin village.
06:45 - A quarter of an hour delay. A second phone call to the District Command Office (DCO) and again they don’t answer. Suddenly a jeep appears. A soldier tells us that there was a penetration of the fence (no less!!). In all the rush, so he says, he even left the gate open there (through which we are able to enter). And then there is an additional penetration and it is not him who lets people through; he is busy chasing them. After him, a Toyota van with antennas arrives. A soldier who got down from the van said they heard from the walkie-talkie that “there are two young women who worry about the Palestinians . . .” He requested that we leave the place because immediately a force will arrive to create order.”
We left the checkpoint square. The soldier locked the gate and traveled eastward. The Palestinians and we wait for the checkpoint to open again.
Until 07:15 we tried three times to reach the DCO by phone but with no luck. Later, a man from Anin reported by telephone that the checkpoint was open at 07:30. They didn’t explain to them the reason for the late hour.
Shaked Checkpoint – 07:25
At this hour there aren’t a lot of people here. The checkpoint was opened at 06:30/ We learned that summer vacation already began for schools.
07:40 – We left.