Huwwara

We drove in Hanna's car.

13:45

Habla – the gate was open. The children's bus arrives and undergoes a thorough inspection by two soldiers.

At 14:02, even before they could shut the two gates, a Palestinian vehicle arrives but it's too late, two minutes have gone by, and he is forced to return and to wait for the evening.

We noticed that cameras had been installed and that the signpost which indicates the opening hours had been removed and in its stead there is a red signpost "military zone, whoever passes or damages the fence endangers himself". 

14:30

Huwwara – the CP was empty.

We entered the vegetable shop at Huwwara and they told us that today, from 09:00 a.m. the soldiers have closed the main street at Huwwara, made vehicles return and ordered them to drive through an alternative road. The street was opened for traffic at 15:30 only. They told us that Huwwara CP was also closed and people were made to go back. They were forced to drive through Awwarta and Beit Furiq.

16:10 – Azoun Atma –

A long queue winds along, the workmen complain that what hurts them is that they are treated like animals. One of them, an elderly man even said "they don't know that the wall of Berlin has fallen, by what right they close us in walls, a day will come…"

From the moment we arrive the checking became quicker and they began passing three workmen together. They complain that the big problem is in the early morning hours.

We were surprised to see workmen passing by a side road and when we asked they said that they are called zero zero. These are workmen who work on 24 hour shifts and they have special authorizations.

Nablus checkpoints)

06:30  'Azzun 'Atma – a very long line of about 70-80 people, maybe even more.  Many others have already crossed and wait at the checkpoint for their rides.  Two inspection booths, and two MP’s outside of the inspection booths inspect both people and their belongings.  But it still takes as long to cross as it did other times we observed – that is, it took a particular person we observed more than an hour to get through.  It’s not raining now, but everything is wet.  I can’t imagine what it’s like to wait an hour or more in the rain to cross.  There’s an awning off to the side, but that doesn’t solve the problem of the line, because there’s no way to stand under the awning and still keep your place on line.  It’s absolutely terrible.  A person is inspected, the solder asks him to remove his jacket, it’s cold.  He’s annoyed, and does so objecting loudly.  And then he turns to us – And what are you doing about it?  You’re no help.  And he’s right – what can we do other than document what’s happening.  How sad.

07:00  The line is becoming a little shorter.  Children crossing to school from the Israeli side have their belongings checked – how come?  Will they bring explosives to the West Bank? 

Some people are sent to sit off to the side while their documents are inspected further.  One said that he always goes through, but since yesterday there’s a red line next to his name so he has to wait longer, and then go through.  What changed since the day before yesterday, that now his name comes up?  Twenty minutes later he went through.

We met a group of laborers who arrive each morning from Bethlehem – what a nightmare, but at least there’s work, so they make the effort.

We took our guests to see Hani’s house – it’s terrible what they did just to benefit a few settlers.

08:10  Bruqin – We saw the mosque whose entrance had been set on fire, as well as the tractor whose driver’s cab was burned completely. The locals shake their heads – why can’t people live together in peace – why, indeed?

08:40  Soldier is at the entrance to Salfit, at the turn to Ariel.  They’re not allowed to let anyone through except Palestinian buses and taxis – we can’t enter.

08:50 We continue to Tapuah/Za’tara.  I’m surprised there are no soldiers inspecting, just someone in the pillbox.

09:10  Huwwara – No soldiers, other than those in the pillbox, who say we’re forbidden to photograph.  But that’s not true, so we continue to take pictures.

09:30  Beit Furik – Deserted, not a living soul, and very few cars going through.

We stopped for falafel in Huwwara – our poor companions were starving.  They’re not used to leaving home at 05:30.

Now the surprise of the day – we reach Tapuach, two soldiers are inspecting cars at the crossing and others erect a concertina barrier on the sidewalk separating the road from the parking lot.  We entered the parking lot to watch.  About ten minutes later the soldiers inspecting cars left the road and returned to the parking lot.  The inspection was very quick – one or two questions, and the car drives away.  The soldiers then came over to talk to us; after we introduced ourselves we asked what they were doing.  You won’t believe it – tonight people will be going to Joseph’s Tomb so they’re fencing off the parking lot.  They promised that tomorrow the barrier will be removed.  And the inspection?  Oh, that was just a flying checkpoint that’s over. 

Translation: Bracha B.A.

09:30 – The Shomron (Samaria) Gate

The checkpoint is empty.

09:45 – Salafit

There were two soldiers at the checkpoint, which was also empty.

10:00 – Tapuach Junction

There was a jeep at the junction but no police or soldiers present.

10:15 – Maaleh Efraim

There were three soldiers at the checkpoint, which was unusual.

10:50 – Hamra Checkpoint

There were four soldiers present.  We met a man who told us that Danny Ashkenazi, the person responsible for security, is constantly harassing Palestinians.  Passage is going smoothly.

11:20 – Tayasir Checkpoint

Four cars are waiting for passengers who are being checked.  One of the drivers told us that they have been waiting for more than a half hour, and it was unusual for so many cars to be waiting there on Saturday.  We met a lot of people who were waiting and we asked if people were ever allowed to show their documents and pass through without getting out of their cars.  They explained that everything depended upon the soldier and whether he was pleasant or not.  Some soldiers let people through quickly and other "bad" ones deliberately make people wait for an hour and a half.  This is particularly true of people going from Tubas to the Jordan Valley.

By 11:40 all the cars that had been waiting and their passengers had crossed through.

12:30 – Hamra Checkpoint

There is a long line of cars waiting and there are  six soldiers, a bulldozer, and a command car at the checkpoint.

13:00 – Maaleh Efraim Checkpoint

The soldiers who were there this morning are now gone and the checkpoint is empty.  There is at least one soldier in the watchtower.

13:10 – Tapuach Junction

There are no soldiers present.

13:45 – Hawara Checkpoint

There are no soldiers present.

13:55 – There is a temporary road block at the entrance to Tzaara.   At 14:05 a jeep arrived and evidently gave an order to leave, and the roadblock is taken away.  People can pass through freely again.

14:20 -  – Eliyahu Gate

There is a long line of cars waiting to cross into Israel.

Translator: Hanna K.

No miracle happened to us, but we did find a jar with oil.

 06:35 Azuun Atma: The queue is shorter than usual. Very many workmen wait on the other side of the road for transportation to work. The CP commander, a reservist, takes care to remove us beyond the CP area. The man seems to be somebody who invests a lot in his job. He directs the waiting people to the checking posts and to another soldier who registers the people who wish to go out. The CP is bordered by fences and plastic obstacles which channel the Palestinians to leave in one direction only. According to him he sees to is that in the afternoon too the queue advances quickly.

We asked one of the people who were waiting to go out and he confirmed that this morning the waiting time was short and yesterday evening too less terrible than usual. It therefore seems that if one wishes one can do that without infringing on the Security of the Fatherland.

06:50 At the Shomron crossing there is no Blue Police at the exit from Israel. A big yellow signpost warns the drivers not to bring their vehicles for repairs at Palestinian garages.

The entrances to Marda and Zeita are open.

Za'tara/Tapuah: There are no soldiers at the checking posts. There is heavy traffic up the hill.

Yitzhar/Burin CPs: There is no military activity.

07:10 Beit Furik:At the entrance to the village there is no flying checkpoint. At the regular Beit Furik CP too there is no military activity.

Awarta: The yellow arm still prevents the passage.

07:45 at the Huwwara CPthere are no soldiers. There is one soldier at the incline up to the pool. We didn't see any soldier in the position opposite the hitchhikers' station.

Burin/Yitzhar:There are no military cars.

08:10 Za'tara/Tapuah:There are border-policemen in the position but there is no obstruction to the traffic.

At the Shomron crossing the checking is superficial.

Translator:  Charles K.

The usual line at Azzun Atma – about 150 Palestinian laborers returning home forced to wait hours by the side of a heavily-trafficked road, with no shelter over their heads, whatever the weather.

14:00 

Habla checkpoint - Vehicles and people on foot manage to go through after being inspected, just before the gate closes.

14:20  Eliyahu crossing – A Hanukkah menorah at the entrance to the checkpoint with holiday greetings from the Shomron regional council.  We later see the same thing next to the Palestinian house outside the fence at Azzun Atma.

14:27  Entrance to Azzun village (Highway 55) – Four armed soldiers stand at the entrance gate.

14:45  Jit junction – We didn’t see a parked military vehicle.

At the turn to Highway 60 (toward Huwwara) – installation of nighttime lighting stretching for kilometers is nearing completion, for the settlers of Havat Gil’ad.

14:50  Huwwara checkpoint – A soldier in the guard tower next to the inspection booths.  A soldier guards the hitchhiking station at the entrance to the Bracha settlement.

14:55  Awarta checkpoint – The yellow iron bar is closed as usual – no access to

Nablusfrom here. 

Large military bulldozers working energetically at the northern entrance to Awarta, creating long, high

earthen berms.

Back to Highway 60 – heavy traffic between Nablusand Ramallah.

15:40  Za’tara checkpoint – Two soldiers at the inspection station.  They’re not inspecting.

15:50  Ariel industrial zone –Very large hangers under construction to the north as well as to the south.

16:00  Azzun Atma checkpoint – About 150 Palestinian laborers returning home after a day of work stand in a very long line waiting to be inspected under a canopy sheltering the soldiers (most of whom today wear yarmulkes and earlocks.  One speaks in English – a new immigrant).

The laborers are used to the occupation’s tricks – one day there’s no line, the next day there is.

We contact the humanitarian office so they’ll speed up the crossing – “We’re taking care of it,” they respond; “I’ll do the best I can” [Noga], but it doesn’t appear that anything will really help.

.

After Sunday’s reports about checkpoints being established at many locations, we decided to make a complete circuit to see what’s going on.  We saw no flying checkpoints other than one that was removed while we were in the field.  There were more military vehicles than usual on the roads, but they didn’t interfere with Palestinian traffic.

06:40  Eliyahu crossing – A number of cars at the inspection station for Palestinians (from Israel as well as from Palestine).  Crossing takes 5-6 minutes.  The cars are checked by dogs and also by people.  Not many people on the pedestrian line, but we couldn’t time how long it took them to get through because no one wore clothes that stood out and we were standing too far away to identify those entering and remember them.  People coming out said it took about 10 minutes to cross.

07:10  Habla – The gate is already open and we see that many people crossed.  On average, it takes ten people about 6 minutes to go through.  Initially, people were inspected at the guard station, where there was a soldier with a portable computer and a second soldier with a scanner.  Later the computer in the inspection room was turned on and people again crossed there.  At 07:20 the children’s bus arrives, the driver waits for the soldiers to notice him and wave him over to the inspection stations.  He said that people with a 00 license go through without having to stop at the inspection station, and he’ll try to get one.  Then the bus advances to the middle of the crossing and a soldier inspects its baggage compartments – as if something would be smuggled into Habla!

Tractors cross with tools, material, olive seedlings – there’s a great deal going on here.  If only people could live here without the damn checkpoint.

We continued via the entrance to Qalqilya and drove through 'Azzun – no soldiers at the entrances; they’re open (the previous day soldiers were reported to have been there).

08:10  Jit junction – From a distance we saw military vehicles and what looked like a flying checkpoint at the Sara/Huwwara junction.  We decided to first stop by Deir Sharaf – the road to Shavei Shomron.  The checkpoint was open but the police officers standing there stopped a Palestinian for inspection, and us as well.  After inspecting my documents – driver’s license, vehicle registration – and finding out that we just want to see what’s going on here, they let us continue.

We stopped at the bakery in Deir Sharaf.  They told us that Jit junction is closed to traffic driving toward Huwwara.

08:50  Back to Jit junction.  Now two military cars were standing on the side above the junction, but the soldiers were lounging in the cars, apparently not doing anything.  Another military car and civilian pickup truck stood on the side of the road to Huwwara, not doing anything, electrical cables and tools alongside them.  The crossing was open in all directions.  Apparently there’d been a flying checkpoint there which had been dismantled by the time we arrived.  We watched what was going on for a while and then continued to Huwwara.

09:10  Huwwara – The crossing is open.  No soldiers on the road.

09:30  Beit Furiq – The crossing is open, no soldiers on the road  except for the one who’s always at the ascent to Mt. Gerizim.

09:50  Za’tara junction – Soldiers are present who from time to time ask some driver something, but the crossing is open, even if slow.  In fact, we crawled all the way up because the crossing went so slowly.

10:00  The entrance to Ariel/Salfit – No military.  We entered in the direction of the entrance to Salfit to see what’s happening there.  Two soldiers stood at the entrance to the road to Salfit (where there’s a yellow gate that can block the road) who told us we can’t drive to Salfit in a car with an Israeli license plate.  We turned around and returned home. 

.

Watchers and reporters:  Ruti R., and Natalie C.

Translation:  Suzanne O.

Shomron Crossing

9:45 a.m. 

There is a police car with 3 policemen parked at the roadblock.

Salfit roadblock

10:00 a.m. 

There are 2 soldiers at the roadblock.  As we had done previously, we offered lifts to Palestinians waiting at the Ariel Junction but they always refuse.

Za'tara/Tapuach Junction

10:05 a.m. 

The traffic flows freely; there are no soldiers at the roadblock.  We saw a soldier in the lookout tower.

Huwwara

10:15 a.m. 

The traffic flows freely; there are 2 soldiers in the lookout tower.

Za'tara/Tapuach Junction

11:45 a.m. 

Empty.  Barbwire have been added to the roadblock car park.  We drove into Yatma and onto Road 60 to Jerusalem.

We didn't see a single roadblock on the way.  We got to Kalandia roadblock.

There we found some dozen cars.  As far as we could see they belonged to Israeli Arabs on their way to the Palestinian Authority territories.

We returned to Tel Aviv via Road 443. 

Translator:  Charles K.

13:45  Habla gate:  Some women with permits want to cross to visit someone who’s given birth, bringing plastic bags with gifts – clothes.  They’re not permitted to take two of the bags through.  The explanation:  “Clothing isn’t permitted through this checkpoint.”  The answer from the DCO:  “We’ll handle it.  You don’t have to call us again.”  Bottom line – the gate closed, the bags were sent back.  Another explanation: “Merchandise isn’t permitted through this checkpoint.”

14:30 –  Checkpoint at the entrance to the village of Sara.

14:40 – Soldiers cross from one side to the other in front of the Huwwara checkpoint.  Traffic flows though the checkpoint itself without any soldiers present.

15:45 – Azzun Atma.  Cars with yellow license plates (no others) speed along the road.  It’s too dangerous to cross the road to the checkpoint – of course, there’s no pedestrian crossing.  The fence next to the checkpoint abuts the road, alongside it a single line of people (there’s no room for anything wider) that keeps getting longer as workers are dropped off by their employers.  There’s a line only in one direction.  The soldier explains:  A double line is dangerous for the soldiers.  They could be stabbed.  The line keeps getting longer, and as darkness begins to fall it numbers more than one hundred persons.  Before we left we asked one of those at the end of the line to call us when he gets through the checkpoint.  He’d arrived at the checkpoint at 16:30.  We left at 16:45.  He called at 18:00.  The response from the humanitarian office:  The problem – which the higher-ups are aware of – will soon be solved.  God willing.

As we said, there was no line on the other side, so the view wasn’t spoiled.

Habla

13:30 –

The Palestinians who enter and some of those who leave praise the woman soldier at the gate (from the Military Police). Listening to an argument between a soldier and an elderly resident accompanied by a boy, we have learned a new term. The birth certificate of children under 16 that has to be in their pocket every time they enter or leave, is called "Kushan" [The term Kushan, used here figuratively, is a certificate of registration of immovable]. The boy didn't have the certificate but they were finally allowed to leave, with a warning. Old tractors and donkey-drawn carts pass and a school-children bus arrives at the exit.

14:00 –

The soldiers check the bus, the driver and the children for over 10 minutes. The whole while, three workers who wish to return to their village stand waiting near us. Suddenly the gate closes and the woman soldier who checks documents on the computer refuses to let them in. we intervene and explain that the workers were here on time. The commander orders her to run the check personally and within a minute they are let in.

Huwwara

15:00 –

The traffic is streaming and no soldiers are seen. At the square, in a camouflage net covered post, a soldier can be seen with his gun pointing in the direction of Huwwara.

Awarte

15:15 –

We enter the village and see no military at all.

Za'tara

16:00 –

A row of 12 cars waiting to pass. The traffic is streaming but in the adjacent parking lot about 8 men and women soldiers are checking thoroughly a Palestinian car whose driver and two passengers are standing outside. While all the parts of the car are being checked and the trunk is being emptied, a dog trainer arrives. Everyone is watching the dog doing its work and another dog trainer is waiting with her dog. We understand that we are watching soldiers training a search in a suspicious vehicle. Nearby a military jeep that was about to leave changes its position after seeing us and stands at an angle that hides the sight from us. We wonder if the owner of the vehicle is compensated for the time he lost for the sake of military training.

Azzun Atme

16:30 –

We go to Azzun Atme following our friends' complaint about what is going on at the time the workers leave and get back. We find a line of 25 people waiting in a narrow passage adjacent to a busy main road. The first group is quickly vacated and checked in the big, canopy covered area, where soldiers are standing and checking documents. Vehicles keep coming every few minutes, sending out workers who are ordered to regroup and stand in one line close to the road and then ordered to hurry in order to make room for the next group. We cannot understand why the workers are not told to right away in lines in the covered and safer area, where they won't crowd in a narrow, dangerous row. It is obvious that the covered place is meant only for soldiers.

A large group of soldiers arrives accompanied by a company commander and three vehicles, maybe following the complaints about the last days' events. According to the soldiers, the big pressure at the entrance and the exit started after the Ramadan [a Muslim holiday], which neither they nor the workers can explain. We even hear a settler from a nearby settlement complaining that leaving in the mornings is so difficult that many contractors left without the workers. We feel for those who lost a day of work.

Translator:  Charles K.

Not a pleasant day, long queues and flying checkpoints

06:15 As we left Ramat Hasharon, we already encountered an Israeli police checkpoint.  It’s not clear why – maybe in the name of equality.

06:25 Azzun Atma:  A long, long line.  Reservists and MP’s who don’t make much effort to shorten it by assigning a soldier to register people by hand.  Instead, the focus on physically inspecting those leaving and their bags of food.  In response to our question, they explain that these people are likely to attack with knives.  When we asked when was the last time a terror attack occurred at Azzun Atma, of course they couldn’t give us an answer.

At the checkpoint we ran into Nura and Hanna, who were taking a different route.

No Israeli police at the Shomron crossingexit from Israel.

The entrances to Marda and Zeita are open.

Za’tara/Tapuach:  Soldiers in the inspection booths, but traffic isn’t impeded.

Yitzhar/Burin checkpoints:  No military activity.

07:10  Huwwara checkpoint plaza – A group of soldiers moving into their positions (at the entrance to the Bracha settlement and opposite the hitchhiking station).

07:20  Beit Furik:  A flying checkpoint at the entrance to the village this week as well.  Soldiers set up a spike barrier; traffic stopped in both directions.  We try to bypass the line, like the settlers do, to ask the soldiers why the delay, but they made us get back into the line and wait patiently like the other residents.  Meanwhile, dozens of additional cars arrive from both directions.  A taxi tries to turn around and return to the village.  We couldn’t hear why, because we were too far away.  We telephoned the humanitarian office, the DCO and the Ministry of Defense; they said nothing could be done.

07:50  We left the village and saw the checkpoint had been dismantled, the soldiers had disappeared, and so did the line.

Awarta:  The yellow iron bar still prevents free passage.

08:00  Huwwara checkpoint -  No soldiers.  A soldier blocks the road up to Bracha settlemrnt.

Burin/Yitzhar:  A military vehicle parked in the parking bay, but doesn’t interfere.

 08:20  Za’tara/Tapuach:  No soldiers in position.  A military vehicle in the parking lot but we didn’t see it interfering with Palestinians.

At the Shomron crossing, we’re asked to open the trunk.