Hamra, Tayasir, Wed 5.5.10, Afternoon

 Translation: Bracha B.A.

Tayasir Checkpoint 14:00

"Nadav's Orders – Don't Talk to Them"

"This is the nice side of the IDF"

It is hot and dry and the winter's green vegetation has turned brown. The soldiers are bored. Occasionally a taxi or a car passes by and the passengers get out and pass through the pedestrian checkpoint. The soldiers are standing outside the protected booth and are checking all the women's bags, including the plastic bags inside, while the men go through without bags. The soldiers' lunch is on stainless steel trays on the railing and there are two bags of sliced bread – one of them will be fed to the donkey that has arrived. The soldiers evidently are acquainted with it. They don't write that we feed the children, too. That's the nice side of the IDF.

One of the soldiers asks to see what is written on our tags. There is an order not to talk to us, by sergeant Nadav from the position on the road . "Put your weapon on or she'll steal it."
"Do you really think so?"
"They're all Lesbians."

An army jeep comes from the Area A and a tourist bus appears from the west, also from Area A. It's unclear who it is carrying. A soldier asks if we are writing about them. We answer that we are writing about what an army jeep and civilian bus might be doing in Area A. "What do you mean? That's a training area up there and soldiers are training there." The commander is still angry that they are talking to us.

We left at 15:00.

All along the road are military flags and small army encampments and Israeli flags. We hear shooting.

Hamra Checkpoint 15:30
There are small convoys and very little traffic. Vans belonging to settlers stop and workers get out and walk westward where they have to wait. Someone complains that they are treated rudely and have to take off all metal objects to be checked and even then the machine still beeps even after he had already put everything back. It is hot and there is almost no traffic. The machine for checking bags is there but not working. Someone complained that they asked a 12-year-old boy for his ID. No one took interest and we left at 14:00.