Arbitrariness, e.g. an arbitrary decision

7.00 am, Bethlehem:  quite a lot of activity in spite of the rain, cold and, as we were to discover later, the almost impenetrable fog on the road south. People told us that passage through the checkpoint was quick because there were fewer people than usual owing to the weather.

At the checkpoint itself a man showed us a woman with three children who were not being allowed through. One of the children did not have a permit. I should point out that this was at a side post, where there was no other activity, so we were not interrupting any soldier’s work.  As we approached her to see what exactly was the matter (she was due to go with them to a hospital) a military policewoman – an officer and, according to her, the commanding officer of the place - came and told us to move back to the wall as it was a ‘closed military area.’  We pointed out that this was not so or, if so, she should show us the printed order.  She physically pushed Chaya away and to the wall.  While we were arguing the point, first a Civilian Administration officer came out and was non-committal, though seemed to agree that we had a point but the soldier was adamant – and all the time physically stopped us from getting near the post.  Finally a policewoman came and she and the soldier went away into their quarters. The policewoman seemed to be more understanding.  (Hopefully, she may have taught the soldier the correct procedure.  But how do you undo years of brutalizing education?)  By this time, the woman with her children had, of course, vanished so we could not help her – but we will lodge a complaint.

7.50 am. Entrance to El Khadr:  a pre-arranged meeting on behalf of Sylvia – signing of power of attorney and payment.

8.08  am.  Etzion DCL: Eight men were waiting outside as the office opened.  They continued to wait until we suggested that they go inside.  Apparently they are so used to being given orders (and assigned numbers) that they were reluctant to go in on their own – in spite of having waited in the freezing cold.

8.40 am. Beit Ummar: a ‘no show’ – probably on account of the weather.  A man approached us with a police traffic report.  As it was still within in its valid period, he was advised simply to pay the fine.

Entrance to Halhul: as arranged, we returned papers to a man who was refused  a permit, whom our lawyer felt he was unable to help. The man decided to try another lawyer.

9.00 am.We had a pre-arranged meeting on behalf of Sylvia – signing of power of attorney and payment.

A few phone-calls came in – people asking for progress reports on their cases, or new cases of refused permits.

14.45 pm. Etzion DCL: two men were waiting at the carousel, but no soldier at the window.  We phoned and soon a soldier came and admitted them, then disappeared.  This happened a few times- each time we phoned – and caused some mutual irritation!

One man from Bethlehem came for a magnetic card.  The soldier would not admit him as it was not the right day (the man said he had already tried the previous day) and that the room upstairs was full and they had to complete service there by 5 o’clock.  According to him, admittance was until 4 o’clock because of the crowd upstairs. (By the way, this did not jibe with what people coming out told us – they said there were very few people waiting upstairs.)  On the other hand, he said that he would be on duty the next morning and promised to admit the man then.

Another man rushed in excitedly with a form (from a hospital?), saying he had to accompany his wife(?)  but, as far as we could understand, had difficulties with Security.  We suggested that he go upstairs and, if he did not receive a permit, we would try making phone calls.  He disappeared inside but we did not see him again.

A young man came to the police as he has a long overdue traffic fine.  There was no policeman on duty, it being ‘after-hours.’  We advised him to check in the morning that a policeman was on duty. We also gave him Chaya’s phone number in case Machsomwatch could help him to negotiate the fine. (No doubt we will be meeting him on our rounds on Monday morning!).

A doctor came out together with a young man.  The doctor was upset and indignant. The young man’s mother was due to have serious surgery on Thursday.  As a doctor, he was given an entry permit but he felt the soldiers thought he was ‘joking’ [his word] about his companion.  Fortunately, we managed to make contact with the representative of the health humanitarian authority to whom he could give details, in Arabic. She said she would clarify and would call back to him.  As we were about to leave, we gave him her phone number in case she did not reply soon, as well as the phone number of Physicians for Human Rights.

Translator:  Charles K.

Waiting for God and the third intifada

13:00 - Habla

Palestinian women prostitutes in Israel???

A Palestinian man (who seemed to have been speaking for a long time; we arrived late):  …The day will come when they’ll be trampled underfoot.  You’ll see.  What kind of world is this? – I need permission to access my own land?!

“Now the Jew is in charge.  Not forever.  The soldiers are Satan’s emissaries.  They’re the emissaries of Satan in the world.  There will be an explosion in Nablus.  In Qalqilya.  There will be explosions everywhere.  People here have no food.  People have gone through and haven’t returned.  Women have gone through and haven’t returned.”  Seeing our uncomprehending expression, he explains:  “Women crossed to Israeland became prostitutes.  The time will come when they won’t be silent.  A woman who leaves her children – who’ll feed them if she gets sick?  They’ll learn to steal.  To do bad things.  You’re forcing us into it.  The Jews should… [curses], the Arabs should also… [different curse].  God won’t help us because we don’t heed him.  I read the Koran – the Moslems once ruled.  When we heeded God.  God asks the same things from Moslems, from Jews and from Christians as well.  Read the Koran.  No one helps us.  Only God will help when we heed him.  People in Africahave no water.  I still do.  The poor, wretched Africans.”

 13:10  The school bus returns.

Our friend prefers a jumpy Natan Zehavi and Carmela Menashe.

A Ramin, the Bedouin village which exists only so its inhabitants can be harassed and its buildings demolished.

We brought clothing for families whose buildings had been demolished.  “At 11 last night, while we slept, soldiers came and woke us, asked for our documents.  We must complain to the higher-ups.  UNRWA and the Red Cross provided tents and food for the children.  A week ago, someone from the Civil Administration at Beit Al Amar: Next month I’m issuing you a demolition order.  The tent is also illegal.  They don’t let us live.  We work in Alfei Menashe.  NIS250 per day, as gardeners, in construction.  The family moved here in 1960 from Beersheba.  The sheep had no grass.  Now there are few sheep, no grazing land.”  He doesn’t listen to Arab radio stations.  But he listens faithfully to Natan Zehavi and Carmela Menashe.  “That Carmela – someone whose head is clogged, she’ll talk it open.  Maybe you have Channel 10’s phone number.  Maybe they’ll help if something happens.”

“Once I thought: Jews and Arabs – brothers until death.  Today – if only there would be an intifada.”

15:10 – Ras Atiya

[A resident of Azzun described in detail the shortest route to Ras Atiya.  How astonished he was to learn we’re not allowed to enter Habla.  His expression said:  I’ve never heard of anything so ridiculous.]

A new acquaintance, a resident of Ras Atiya, tells us we’ve come at a difficult time.  An elderly man has been killed.  They’re afraid more people will be killed.  [The background – a blood feud; no one know how it will end].  The Palestinian police can’t do their job and protect people’s lives because their mobility is restricted by the occupying army.

The army enters the village from time to time and prevents people from accessing their lands.  They sometimes come at two in the morning, at three.  They sound an alarm.  The soldiers’ faces are painted black.  If they catch someone, he could be detained for three hours.

The village has 1900 inhabitants.  Hundreds applied for permits during the olive harvest, but only 25(!) were granted.  Children also need a permit.  There’s no alternative – some abandon the crop, others pay half the crop to those who have permits.  The permits are granted arbitrarily.  Some get a permit for three months, others for a year, “depending on how they feel, how it was in bed with the wife.”  Landowners can’t carry out other agricultural activities because of a lack of a supportive economic infrastructure.  No one will compensate them for damages caused by weather (unlike in proper countries).  So someone who erects a greenhouse that’s carried off by the wind has lost everything.  He hasn’t yet even repaid his NIS12,000 loan.  Some have abandoned farming because of the miniscule return – NIS5 for a crate of tomatoes.

People say the magnetic cards are phony.  They’re only for the occupier’s benefit, so they can get a current photo and fingerprint.  Renewing a magnetic card costs NIS120.  The scanners are carcinogenic.

The most obvious fact is how many locals have been blacklisted by the Shabak.  That outrages and astonishes people we speak to because not even one stone was thrown here.  There’s no way to find out why someone was blacklisted.  The four people we spoke to have all been blacklisted.  Lawyers charge them very high fees, promise nothing and do nothing.  Who can afford to throw NIS32,000 to the winds?  Sometimes it turns out that the police have nothing against someone, but that’s not the case with the Shabak.  And, as you know, the Shabak doesn’t have to account to anyone.  The usual response:  “You’re blacklisted for 99 years.”  There are many collaborators in the village (and elsewhere as well).  Someone who refuses to collaborate can expect to be blacklisted permanently.

One man says:  “I worked in Israeluntil 2000.  I was a contractor.  Life was good.  I worked during the day and enjoyed myself at night.  I loved the Tel Aviv promenade.  I loved Jews so much I wanted to convert.  I once said, ‘We’re brothers unto death.’  Today – they can…[curses]. I hope an intifada will erupt.  I’m already 30, and still haven’t done anything with my life.  Go to sleep and wake up, go to sleep and wake up - that’s a life?  That’s no life.  The collaborator turned my life black.  I’d kill that informer if I knew who he was.  The whole problem is when you’re not a collaborator.  The terror is your fault.  When there’s nothing to eat, why are you surprised that someone will blow themselves up so their family receives $100,000.  You don’t want security.  In my heart I say:  ‘Lord, bring back the intifada.’”

Our interlocutor refuses to return with us via the absurd route we took.  He insists on taking us a faster way.  No one stopped us.  As he promised.

.

13:40

  Habla – The gate is open and people crossed with no problems.

14:35

  Huwwara – no problems

15:35

  Za’tara – Soldiers asked people to get out and inspected their vehicles and took the passengers’ ID cards to check them.

15:50

  Azzun Atma – When we arrived we were amazed to see a very long line of workers that stretched across the road – about 60 people.  The line was contained between plastic barriers.  Three soldiers “kept order,” that God forbid someone would get out of the line, and if someone moved the soldier rudely pushed him back in line with the plastic barrier.  It was really dangerous because vehicles sped madly along the road.  We approached the checkpoint commander, who looked like a settler.  He said he can’t do anything, it’s the job of the military police, all we do is keep order and guard the soldiers.  We spoke to the workers who said it’s like this every day, and yesterday was worse.  We telephoned the humanitarian office a number of times; they kept telling us they were taking care of it.  Of course, we didn’t remain quiet; we yelled at the soldiers who didn’t allow us to approach the window to speak to the military policeman.  We threatened to call the humanitarian office, but it didn’t help.  After about half an hour about six more soldiers arrived as reinforcements, and we thought that “salvation” had arrived, but instead of helping they hemmed the workers in even more.  When we asked why they aren’t helping to inspect they said they’re not authorized to do so, they came to guard the soldiers because yesterday their lives were in danger.  The workers became disorderly and the soldier pushed them, but the same checkpoint commander who said he had no authority to conduct inspections began pulling adults from the line and checking them. The scene was terrible and I called Chana Barag  in despair.  She wasn’t home but she called the humanitarian office and told them she was`going to send a letter of complaint.

At 17:45 it was already dark, workers arrived one at a time and the line shortened to about 30 people.  We decided to leave.

N.B.:  A large, uncovered garbage receptacle stood near the line and near where the soldiers stood.  It was full of flies, and something inside stank terribly; the stench was unbearable.

I beg all of you to observe there between 15:30 – 17:00.  I apologize that this report is so long.  I haven’t been able to forget – it was so painful.

Translation: Bracha B.A.

06:15 A'anin Agricultural Checkpoint

The olive harvest is still in progress.  Dozens of workers have already crossed through the far gate.  Perhaps it is coincidence that they have no bags.

Ripe persimmons are scattered on the ground between the fences.  The person who brought them was not allowed to bring them through the checkpoint.  Evidently persimmons and bags of children's clothing constitute danger to the security of the State of Israel and the IDF, the guardians, are not taking any chances.  We collected as much of the fruit as we could and gave it to passers-by. 

At 07:10 the yellow van came to take the Bedouin children to school in Um-A Reihan. We left while there were still a few people at the checkpoint and the soldiers will close it after the last person has gone through.

07:15 – Shaked-Tura Checkpoint

Most of the people are going from the West Bank towards the seamline zone.  The children from the "lone house" pass through on a horse-drawn wagon on their way to school.   Students and mothers with young children cross through to the West Bank and have to wade in the mud that has accumulated by the stone wall.  Another barbed wire fence and gate have been added in the direction of the West Bank.  From here it is difficult to see what their purpose is. The occupation runs like a well-oiled machine. As they say, everything is OK.

07:40 – Reihan Barta'a Checkpoint

A lot of workers arrive, on their way to work in Barta'a.  Bored drivers are waiting for a job to do. Several people were not allowed to go through to Barta'a and were sent back.  A man with belts for sale in Barta'a is sent back, puts them down somewhere, and goes back to the terminal.   Another man arrives with a container of olive oil for his restaurant in Barta'a, but according to the authorities it is a wholesale quantity and he is not allowed to bring it.  Now he has to go to Salem and get a permit to bring it through – wasting the entire work day as well as money that will not be returned.   A doctor with a bag of medicines who has a permit is sent back.  A man with pocketbooks that he could not sell wants to return them to the store in Barta'a is also sent back, but after S.'s intervention they are both allowed through.   
6 vans are waiting on the road to be checked.

We left at 08:30.

10:45 – Maale Efrayim Checkpoint

Manned, all Palestinian vehicles inspected.

11:00 In the area between the Gitit and Mekhora colonies, there are newly tended fields, by the settlers of course, for about a year now. The Palestinians do not tend fields at all in this region, as they have no water. About half a year ago they did grow squashes in hothouses, but the crop was later abandoned on the roadside. Now their hothouses are deserted and broken. Next to these, probably tended by those same settlers, a field lies green and lush, and at this hottest time of day, the sprinklers merrily spray water a-plenty in all directions. At the same time, Palestinians are prevented any access to local water supply and are forced to drive great distances and purchase water in tanks, in contrast to the waste we witness.

11:45 – Hamra Checkpoint – no vehicle traffic. A huge bulldozer parked in the middle of the checkpoint.

Gochia Checkpoint wide open
Palestinians tell us that tanks cross this point often and one of them has broken/twisted the metal gate. It now remains open to enable tank passage. Until two weeks ago “security needs” prevented Palestinians of the Jordan Valley from traveling to the center of their daily lives in the West Bank hills, except for specific days and hours, and with special permits and tight supervision of the Israeli army. So what has changed? How is it suddenly possible for them to cross without inspection? And if everyone may get through from here westwards into the West Bank, un-inspected, then what is the security point of all the other checkpoints?

We drove on to Al Farasiya, having heard just this morning of house demolitions there.

Well, house is a bit overstated. In the middle of an encampment with five structures, at 9 a.m. a military bulldozer demolished the sheep shed, and now the sheep lie exposed in the scathing sun. Amazing how the army chooses one structure, probably arbitrarily (so it appears), and demolishes it alone. The woman complains that they hardly have any food as it is, and not this… What will they do? The son, who speaks Hebrew, tells us that less than a month ago, on September 20^th, agents of the Civil Administration of the Occupation arrived and handed them a demolition order for the large tent that stood where now the sheep shed had been. The family dismantled the tent in view of the officials and left only the small sheep shed intact. But the officer told them, as the son says: “We don’t care – we only want you to go away!”

We met EAPPI volunteers from Yanoun, who told us that last night, settlers uprooted 150 young olive trees at the village of Kusra.

We drove about 5 km north to Al Hamma, a small encampment by the roadside. Two days ago the army demolished their cowshed. The people weren’t home but the cowshed is already re-erected.

At 13:30 we decided to take advantage of the open Gochia gate and drive westward. I called an acquaintance who lives in Atuf, near Tamun village, in the hills, about 5 km south-west of the gate. He lives on the hillside overlooking the beautiful fertile valley of Al Baqa (south of Ras al Ahmar). His home has water and electricity supplied by the PA, as the southern hill is considered Area B, but downhill in the valley it’s Area C and there’s nothing. In the valley there is a green field whose owner has dug an ‘unlicensed’ well (no permits are issued in Area C), and of course there is  a demolition order pending.

People told us that every few days two tanks enter the area through Gochia Checkpoint, climb the hill north of the Al Bawa valley, and open fire over the heads of the tent-dwellers in the valley. These run for their lives, horrified every time it happens. In fact they start running as soon as they see the tanks crossing Gochia. According to the map I hold the hill is marked as a firing zone, but not the valley. And anyway, firing tanks over the heads of residents, including children, women and the elderly?? Probably another cruel way to make them leave.

Bethlehem- Checkpoint 300:  we arrived at 07:15 and found a madhouse. Those outside already told us that the crossing was very difficult today. People have been waiting for hours.

We entered the terminal; three windows were open, with no congestion in the exit hall. There was yelling from the other side; we understood that the laborers were extremely jumpy.

It’s easy to understand why: after four days of involuntary vacation, Sunday finally arrives and people can go back to work. But no! The lengthy time it took to cross made many laborers retrace their steps because they wouldn’t get to work on time. Everyone was on their cell-phones to notify their employers that they’re “stuck,” and apparently were told that their rides would no longer wait for them. Tension continued to increase, as did the shouting. We (Sylvia and Chana Barag) also made many calls, but nothing changed as a result. Only one booth was open on the Bethlehem side, and crossing went extremely slowly.

We received conflicting information regarding the hour at which the checkpoint opened: one person said it opened only at 06:30; Itzik, the policeman, who suddenly appeared from within said it opened at 05:15. The response, or lack of response, from those inside (the checkpoint commander, for example), who sounded “surprised” when we told them of the uproar outside, of course, only a pretense, because the shouting is audible from a distance. The general indifference is astonishing in its crudeness, evidence of the insensitivity of those at the top of the pyramid, in this case the terminal commander.

At 07:30 there was a loud noise from the other side, perhaps to frighten the laborers. Who knows what it was.

A group of Muslim women with children comes out with permits (of course). They’re going on a trip to Ramat-Gan and are excited finally to see the ocean!!  The children in particular are excited.

07:50  - terrible shouts on the Bethlehem side. What’s happening? Who knows? The hall suddenly fills, but meanwhile one window has closed, leaving only two open.

08:15 - now the hall is very congested, but still only two windows are open. People are jittery, annoyed and desperate.

08:25 - a third window opens.

08:30 - people who went through go back to where they came from.

08:35 - reports of a lot of people outside, on the Bethlehem side.

08:45 - after a frightening silence on the unseen side, the hall fills again. With three windows open, crossing goes fairly quickly.

09:00 - the other side is still full, as is the hall. We leave. It seems that most people will soon have crossed.

09:10 - we sit in the car, see Palestinian bus No. 24 leave the station filled with laborers.

A very bad day at Checkpoint 300!

Etzion DCL: at 09:30 only one person is in the waiting room. There are apparently a few people within the office. A few minutes later one Palestinian laborer who apparently went to work in Tzur Hadassah – with a permit for Beitar Illit – came back . He was caught by the Border Police who confiscated his permit; now he has a problem. We gave him Chaya A.’s phone number.