Eyal Crossing, Habla, Ras 'Atiya, Wed 5.5.10, Morning
Translation: Suzanne O.
Eyal
4:30 a.m.
The crossing opens at 4:00 a.m., and we see labourers who have already crossed.
We turned to go to the 'button' and two 'managers' immediately appear and stop us. When we claimed that there is an agreement that we can enter with a guard they reply that that is all fair and good but they do not have a guard available to be with us. We waited a bit, and then approached the fence. It was still dark but we saw a long queue waiting quietly.
We talked to the labourers coming out: a few said that the inspection was long and hard, one of them advised us to stand inside the building. He told us that it is very crowded inside and the inspection alone took 40 minutes. Other labourers said that it had gone well.
6:00 a.m.
We went to the fence again, no one supervised us, the queue had disappeared and there was a steady trickle of people.
Chabla
6:40 a.m.
The roadblock opened; there was a queue of about 100. 5 people at a time go in for an inspection which lasts about 2 minutes on average. The first to come out was a family with a child suffering from cancer. They are going to Schneider Hospital and a friend will come to take them there.
Ras Atiya
7:15 a.m.
On our way we noticed that the gate in the wall is still not operational. When we arrived at Ras Atiya we saw the school buses leaving the village.
The check point is open; the teachers are inspected at the entrance and at the exit. In order to lead them to the gate the army has added a fence which separates the pedestrians from the cars. The inspection of cars and their passengers is the old one: the passengers alight and walk to the check point; the driver takes the vehicle across and goes to be inspected.
The school buses arrive: the older children alight for inspection. Military policemen board the bus for a moment and then the buses enter and wait for the inspection of the children and adults to be completed.