'Anin, Barta'a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked

06:30 Anin Checkpoint

The checkpoint opened exactly on time. Beforehand a soldier approached us and asked who we were. The farmers passing by greet us with a friendly ‘sabah el’her’ [good morning] and ask to have their pictures taken with us. The atmosphere is pleasant. They tell us that the period allotted to harvest the olives is insufficient, and ask that it be extended.

07:10 Tura Shaked Checkpoint

Cars are speeding down the access road toward the checkpoint, the same road on which children are walking on their way to daycare or school in the village of Tura. They’ve clearly invested a good deal of money in the checkpoint: there’s a stoplight, electric gates. But they also must make sure there’s a pedestrian walkway, for the children and others, or at least install speed bumps along the road.

07:50 Barta'a Riehan Checkpoint

The cars are parked remarkably neatly and the trucks waiting to be examined are idling nearby and not in the parking lot. A driver we’ve long been familiar with shares the following information: about 5,000 laborers have passed through, most of them construction workers. He recalls the good days, when there were no checkpoints and he worked as a gardener (''נויניק'') in a kibbutz. Now he’s waiting to turn 55, at which point he’ll be allowed to pass through the checkpoint just by showing ID, without needing a special permit. He hopes no new restrictions will be put in place before then, and it’ll be possible to get out of prison!

We watch the merchants that work in Barta’a arrive.