Since 2001 we have observed dozens of army checkpoints on paved and unpaved roads in the West Bank, the Jordan Valley and along the Separation Fence; Civil Administration offices which grant permits to Palestinians; and military courts trying Palestinian prisoners. We stand at the checkpoints observing the behavior of soldiers and Palestinians without interfering, intervening only when soldiers behave offensively to Palestinians. Then we try to speak to the soldiers themselves or telephone...
'Anin, Jalama, Reihan, Shaked, Mon 28.12.09, Morning
28/12/2009 ,Morning
Leah R., Anna N.S.
Reihan
Translation: Bracha B.A.
06:15 – A’anin Agricultural Checkpoint
On this dark and wintry morning only about 10 people and two tractors passed through the checkpoint. Several people were seen coming back after they were told to leave the checkpoint. We heard the soldiers yelling, “You, go back; you, go home, go, I’m telling you!!” We wonder who is meant to go home and who is in their own home already.
An elderly man tells us that he is the only one in his family who has received a permit to cross into his land. He complains that he cannot work alone. A year ago the trees in his orchard were burned and there was restoration work to be done that he couldn’t do without help. At the Liaison and Coordination Administration they insist that members of his family not receive permits to join him.
At 06:30 there were still four people waiting to go through and we left.
06:45 – Reihan Barta’a
Throughout the shift people went through the checkpoint without delay and without having to wait in line. At 07:00 there were 4 vans at the first check in the lower facility. There were no other vans in the parking lot at the time.
The checkpoint opens at 05:00 and the workers and seamstresses have going through a long time ago. One of the Bedouin drivers reminisces about the days when he worked in a kibbutz and tells us about the lifestyle in the Bedouin villages in the area. A polite man asked to complain about the fact that there are no bathrooms here. It is an aesthetic and a sanitary problem and we later approached Sharon, the manager of the checkpoint, about it.
He explained that he issued orders to remove the previous restrooms because the army did not clean them and they smelled bad. He also said that there will be a meeting in the next few days with all those involved in the checkpoint and that he would discuss the issue in hopes that the bathrooms would be reinstalled and that they would be responsible for them.
07:15 – Shaked Tura Checkpoint
There is earthmoving equipment at the checkpoint. What is it here for? Students are being checked on their way through the checkpoint. A young pregnant teacher carrying a baby in her arms is afraid of the magnometer check. She is angry that the soldier makes her go through. She is on her way to work at the school, and will leave the baby with her mother in Dar el Malak.
The principal of the Hirbet Barta’a School gets through “quickly” today. The hassling lasts less than a half hour. On the way back we encounter garbage, building rubble, and junk thrown into the olive grove.
08:00 Jalameh Checkpoint
We came here to pick up Suheil and Aya to bring them to Rambam Hospital in Haifa. Today there are four busses waiting to collect families of Palestinian prisoners. Suheil says that they come on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. She herself leave home at 06:00 carrying Aya. She arrives at the checkpoint very early to get through before the checkpoint staff goes on a break from 08:00 – 10:00. It takes her only a quarter of an hour to get through.
Atarot checkpoint 24.01.109
Atarot checkpoint 24.01.10
Atarot checkpoint 24.01.10
Atarot checkpoint 24.01.10
