Reihan, Shaked, Sat 22.5.10, Morning
Translator:
Charles K.
07:00
Reihan checkpoint
Why have they painted the flower pots on the wall green again?
Good-morning-flow-begins.
Five vans wait for rides in the upper parking lot. Ten
minutes pass, they fill up and drive to Barta’a.
A guard comes out of the vehicle area, looks around with weapon drawn
and returns.
At the entrance gate people enter the terminal in groups of five.
Inside, two inspection windows are open.
Relatively few people have shown up this morning. Maybe more will come
later. “It’s not crowed today,” they say.
Seven female students cross to Jenin, to the American University. One
of the fathers is dragging a loaded suitcase, asks whether they can
get a cart.
From 7:30 on, it’s quiet, and few people cross.
The guard on the outer bridge paces back and forth, waving his weapon.
8:10 Ten vans waiting for riders. We left.
8:20 Shaked checkpoint
Unit flags of the Military Police and the Armored Corps.
One man stands in the shed in front of the checkpoint. He’s
Israeli, waiting for his three children who were visiting their
grandmother in the nearby Palestinian village of Tura.
He hopes they’ll be allowed to come through at this checkpoint, and won’t
be sent to the distant Reihan checkpoint. We hope so too.
The soldiers ignore us. A commander of a military vehicle gets out
at the gate and asks us to move “behind the line.” What
line? He doesn’t know. He waves his hand in the air and
continues to the checkpoint.
8:50 We saw the three grandchildren of the grandmother from Tura arriving
at the checkpoint and entering the inspection building. We
left, and when we returned five minutes later there was no one
around. Apparently they crossed and drove off.
9:00 We left.