'Anin

Translator:  Charles K.

14:55  A’anin checkpoint
Four tractors and a few people wait in the rain and cold.  The soldiers open the checkpoint gates exactly at 15:00; people cross quickly.  The driver of the tractor, who told us that 26 farmers from A’anin are allowed to cross through the Shaked-Tura checkpoint when the A’anin checkpoint is closed (cf. report from 29.12.11), said he’d received a new agricultural permit and even took advantage of the opportunity to cross through the Tura checkpoint.  He said he was even allowed to go through in his car, which shortens the trip from A’anin to the checkpoint from an hour and a half (by tractor) to 25 minutes (by car).  He doesn’t know whether other farmers from A’anin crossed at Tura.

15:25  Shaked-Tura checkpoint
Little traffic at this hour, either vehicles or pedestrians.

A resident of Tura whose home is located right next to the checkpoint is employed there as a janitor by a Palestinian company.  He cleans six checkpoints, from Jubara near Tulkarm to Shaked-Tura, and earns only NIS 2000/month and NIS 700 car allowance.  He has land in the seam zone but usually gets a permit only during the olive harvest.  His brother has a shop in Barta’a, but he can’t a permit to work and remain there.  He’s allowed to enter the seam zone only as far as the concrete barriers before the checkpoint.  He says he isn’t granted a permit because he objected to the demolition of a porch and uprooting of cypress trees in front of his house when the separation fence was erected.  His opposition succeeded; the fence was erected without damaging the porch or the trees, but his freedom of movement and income were curtailed.

16:00  Reihan-Barta’a checkpoint, the seam zone side
A pickup truck and a few cars wait to cross to the seam zone.

Laborers come down through the fenced corridor and immediately go through the terminal.  Beautiful, proud female students return from class on the West Bank.  Two guys carry a large carton containing a 42” flat-screen TV.  The gate is opened for them because of the TV set, so they don’t have to go through the revolving gate.  But an old woman carrying two large sacks doesn’t get the same treatment; people on line help her take her sacks through the revolving gate.  Some families with small children cross in either direction, perhaps because schools are on vacation.  Three children on their way to the West Bank are trapped in the revolving gate.  Their mother remained behind.  In response to our request, the person conducting the inspections released the gate and let the mother in as well.

When two windows are open in the terminal, there’s almost no line.  When the terminal is congested, at about 16:30, and one of the windows closes for a short time, a line of 30-40 people forms.  Our phone call to the person in charge apparently helps; the second window reopens and the line quickly disappears.

17:00  We leave the checkpoint as the laborers continue to come down through the fenced corridor, many carrying sacks of oranges.  The scent of citrus is intoxicating.

Translator:  Charles K.

06:05  A’anin checkpoint

Only a few people crossing on this cold and rainy morning.  They include a good-natured, toothless elderly woman who refused our offer to get in the car so we could give her a ride to her destination.  She’ll wait in the wind and rain for her grandson from Umm Reihan to pick her up.

06:30  Reihan-Barta’a checkpoint

A few taxi vans wait in the upper parking lot for people crossing from the West Bank to the seam zone.  Laborers who’ve already come through the terminal wait for their rides under the canopy at the end of the fenced corridor.  The lower Palestinian parking lot is still empty.  Vehicles transporting people from the West Bank who work in the seam zone, and in Barta’a, let them out; they immediately enter the terminal.  There’s not much traffic.

Six large pickup trucks loaded with agricultural produce wait on the road for their documents to be checked before their cargo is inspected.  Two more pickup trucks next to the canopy load flats of eggs.  There’s a notice posted there in Arabic with the phone number of the Crossings Administration.

A delicate rainbow is visible above the filthy road.  What a contrast!

07:05  Dothan checkpoint

We visited our friend W. at the new location of the charcoal kiln, which had been moved here after the kilns in the Dothan Valley and elsewhere had been shut down because they made it difficult for the settlers in the area to breathe.  They’re not now burning wood here either, but packing charcoal that arrived from somewhere else.  W. sleeps in a temporary shelter for the sacks of charcoal that are well-covered with plastic.  His bed is exposed to the wind and rain.  Even the miserable dog tied there has a corner to himself.  He doesn’t want us to talk to his boss, who promised him a container.  During the past few days he received special shipments of warm coats and clothing from his friends in Machsom Watch.

07:55  Tayibe Rummaneh checkpoint (below Umm el-Fahm)

A military jeep parked between the fences.  The gates are still locked – they’re supposed to open at 08:00.  A Hummer arrives, the jeep and Hummer leave, one tractor and three farmers are waiting.

08:10  A border police jeep arrives together with an MP whose job it is to check the permits of those crossing.

08:20  “Everyone” crossed.  The border police and the MP have to wait until 08:30.  We don’t.

Translator:  Charles K.

06:20  A’anin agricultural checkpoint
An especially cold day, few people going to work – only a few dozen.  The procedures are conducted in the front portion of the checkpoint.  A youth isn’t allowed through; he returns from whence he came.  A minute later he shows up holding some document which doesn’t satisfy the soldiers who send him back again.  A man coming through said they didn’t let him cross because his birth certificate wasn’t enough for the soldiers; they wanted him to bring a parent (he was 12-16 years old).

The children of the Bedouin family living at the foot of the checkpoint are excited.  There’s an English test today; the girls examine us, whether we can read English and perhaps even some Arabic.

07:00  Tura (Shaked) checkpoint
The soldiers arrive now at the checkpoint, which opens ten minutes later to people coming from the West Bank to the seam zone.  Most of those crossing to the West Bank are vehicles, pupils and students, functionaries and other workers.  The pupils come running, open their school bags, soldiers check and they go across.  Nothing special is happening.  The occupation routine!  Both the horse and its rider know what they have to do; everyone plays the game perfectly.

07:40 - 08:20  New Barta’a checkpoint
The lower parking lot is completely filled with Palestinian vehicles.  People coming from the West Bank enter the terminal without delay.  Everything seems to proceed peacefully.  The scanner doesn’t expose what people are feeling as they enter and leave.  We get hints from their comments when we say “Shalom” as they pass us:  “What peace?  Peace with whom?”

Trucks loaded with food wait on the road for their turn to be inspected.

A rainbow arcs across the sky but immediately changes its mind.  Heavy gray rain clouds cover the sky.  We hurry to pick up a father and his two small children to bring them to Rambam Hospital.  Another slight delay while the father’s identity is verified, and why didn’t he coordinate his trip ahead of time, and other questions that are asked very politely – but aren’t able to conceal the fact that the negotiation is being conducted between the ruler and the ruled.  And at the same time Israeli vehicles cross in both directions with a wave of the hand, and then disappear.
 

Translation: Bracha B.A.

15:13 – A'anin Checkpoint
The gates are open and people and tractors are passing through.  Three girls from the Bedouin clan, who live beneath the checkpoint, whom we know and see many mornings while they wait for their ride to school, are dressed up to greet their uncle who is coming from A'anin.   He does not arrive, and the soldiers tell us that even if he does come he cannot cross to the seamline zone at this hour. 

 Two young men whose permits have expired on December 31^st, 2011 are debating whether to go home through A'anin checkpoint or to go with us to the Reihan checkpoint.  The checkpoint commander, a staff sergeant, promises us that he will let them through and not confiscate their ID cards if they are "not criminals."   The two young men enter the area between the two gates and the first sergeant and the policewoman begin to call and check. At 15:45 two farmers arrive and cross through.  The checkpoint is open until 16:00.  At 16:00 one of the young men is released and allowed to go home.  The gates of the checkpoint are closed.   We wait until 16:15, when the other young man is allowed to leave.

16:25 – Shaked-Tura Checkpoint
A few workers, a car, two trucks and a donkey and wagon cross to the West Bank.  A family crosses to the seamline zone. 

16:50 – Reihan Barta'a Checkpoint - The Seamline Zone Side
Three vehicles and their passengers are waiting to cross to the West Bank.  Workers are entering the sleeve carrying bags of oranges.  There is no line at the entrance to the terminal.  Four detainees are waiting on the bench and two windows are operating.  Occasionally the clerk at the windows deal with students and families going towards the seamline zone and a line builds up but quickly disappears again.  One of the people passing through marvels that "they are working nicely".   We notice that the upper arms of the turnstile at the entrance have been covered with black rubber to prevent possible injuries to people passing through.

At 17:15 we left, but workers continued to arrive.   There are still three cars waiting to cross to the West Bank.  The bus from the "Shomron Development Company crosses to the seamline zone without being stopped.  

Translator: Charles KT

End-of-the-season celebrations
Many residents of A’anin received special daily crossing permits for the olive harvest (‘amal – work permits) at the A’anin checkpoint that are valid until the end of December, 2011.  The army ordered the harvest stopped at the end of November, and the checkpoint once again was open only two days a week.  But there was still a great deal of work to do in the olive groves beyond the fence and the checkpoint, mainly because only a few family members received work permits.  There are still olives on the trees; they have to be pruned, the ground must be plowed, and it all must be completed before the rains.  “They’ll have to make do with two days a week.  I know; my family also has olives,” says Wahal, the DCO representative.

Now people have permits valid for another month, worth their weight in gold, but the army has forbidden them to continue working.  Only agricultural permits are now valid (zir’a’a – agricultural – permits).  After a day or two they changed their mind and let everyone work.  The generous Occupation.

Today is the last day these permits are valid, so many people left the village this morning, not necessarily for the olive groves, including old men and women (among them the ill and frail), and youths, a true end-of-the-season celebration.

We gave three people a ride to Umm Reihan – an old, frail man, his wife and her sister.  On the way they learned that Neta is from Haifa.  “My mother is also from Haifa,” said the woman emotionally, “My mother is also from Haifa.”

Maliciousness for its own sake (condensed version)
Some time in September (three and a half months ago) the Israeli and Palestinian liason officers jointly visited the A’anin checkpoint.  A man from A’anin took the initiative and asked them to permit the full-time farmers (most of whose lands, as we know, are located in the seam zone ghetto) to cross back and forth through the Shaked/Tura checkpoint, which is open daily and is an hour-and-a-half drive from A’anin.  OK, they said, give us a list.  He gave them a list of 30 people.

Two weeks ago, completely by chance, we learned about that list, and that 26 people on it had already been authorized some time ago to cross through the Shaked checkpoint.  The day before yesterday we obtained the list from the Civil Administration.  We asked V., from the DCO – why didn’t you notify the people?  They’ve been waiting and waiting for three months!  It’s very tempting to quote his response, butI’m too embarrassed.  Stupidity, malice, indifference.  Whether I like it or not, V. and I are on the same side.  My government pays him his salary for his failures, his motivation, his lack of consideration, and the Machsom Watch badge on my lapel can’t neutralize my feelings of shame and nausea.

Yesterday we faxed the list to the A’anin municipality; I doubt whether they could do anything useful with it.  Today we gave two of the full-time farmers copies of the list.  I doubt whether either of them will bother notifying the other lucky on

Translation: Bracha B.A.

14:15 – Reihan Barta'a Checkpoint

The main parking lot and the auxiliary parking lot near the road are completely full. The seamstresses who work in East Barta'a are returning from work. The car which will take them back to Yaabed is parked on the road since there is no room in the parking lot.  They are pleased to see us – we haven't met for a long time.  Agricultural workers are also coming back at this time.  Some of them are carrying bags of oranges that they brought from work.  Among those waiting on the road is a mother with her small twin daughters, who look like twin dolls. On our way to A'anin we met someone we knew, a resident of A'anin, who'd asked us for a ride to the checkpoint. The man had spent the night at his sister's in Um a-Reihan and was concerned he would not be allowed to return through A'anin checkpoint. He asked us to take him to Reihan-Barta'a checkpoint if that happened.

15:00 A'anin Checkpoint

About 30 people as well as three tractors are already waiting in front of the checkpoint gate. The soldiers open the gates and people begin to cross.  The military policewoman has no computer today and she is checking people's IDs against her list.  She is also checking the tractors. Two soldiers are securing her. An elderly woman and man are detained. After a few minutes they are allowed to return to their homes.  Our hitchhiker is also briefly detained and then allowed through. 

15:30More people arrive, including the tractor driver, who's been allowed through last week at Shaked-Tura, when his tractor broke down (See report from 15.12.11). They were promised that they would be able to cross at Shaked-Tura on the days when A'anin checkpoint was closed.  Unfortunately, he and 25 other farmers never received this piece of information. Tomorrow he will try to cross there and we will check to see what happens.

15:50 – Shaked-Tura Checkpoint

There is very little traffic at this hour. Several women cross, including a child in a pram – a rare sight here. 

16:00– There is no need to check if our hitchhiker would be allowed to cross since he has already received permission, so we return to Haifa instead to celebrate Christmas and Hanukah.

Translator: Charles K.

06:10 A’anin agricultural checkpoint

The olive harvest is over. The checkpoint is again open at the usual hour, Monday and Thursday morning from 06:00. Most permits are valid until the end of the month.

About 60 men and women go through the checkpoint during our shift, going to work despite the extreme cold. Among them is the amiable old man, with a new donkey that’s also old (its predecessor has been stolen). Both limp toward the olive grove. We’re told that the soldiers refused entry to a woman and two children, aged five and seven. We weren’t able to learn more because the woman gave up and returned home.

06:50 Ten women come through the checkpoint on their way to work in the grove; their trees are adjacent to each other and they gladly help one another.

We left as the checkpoint was preparing to close; a few people still hadn’t gone through.

07:15 Shaked-Tura checkpoint

Here, too, the hours are back to the usual timetable. The checkpoint is open in the morning from 07:00 to 10:00. Most of those leaving are teachers and pupils, and only a few others, may be because it’s so cold.

A man asks us to help him obtain a permit for his wife. The couple lives in Tura. The woman has had a crossing permit for years, but for the past six months she’s been refused one. The man went to the Palestinian DCO a number of times, but they couldn’t tell him why she’d been refused. We telephone the DCO; a polite soldier says he doesn’t see any reason for the refusal and suggests we call the officer in charge of these matters in a few days to find out.

A man employed at maintaining buildings in the Shaked settlement tells us that the settlement is growing; they’re now in the fourth round of expansion. In fact, we noticed signs on our way here offering land ready for building at a bargain price.

07:30 New Barta’a-Reihan checkpoint

We don’t see any vehicles transporting agricultural produce, which is unusual. A pile of egg cartons under the canopy, a few people negotiating, and finally one of the drivers loads the eggs into his pickup truck. Taxi drivers nap in their vehicles. People arrive at the parking lot and are immediately swallowed by the terminal. The occupation routine triumphs.

At 08:00 we leave to pick up a father and daughter, to take them to the hospital.

Translation: Dvora K.

7:00 It is cold outside. We decide to see what is happening at the A'anin CP. The CP is closed even though there are another two weeks to the olive-picking season. That is what we are told by two men from the village nearby, whom we meet on the road. The CP will be open on Mondays and Thursdays as in the period when there is no olive-picking.

7:05 Shaked / Tura

Since Thursday, they've been opening the CP at 7:00 instead of at 6:00. H., who lives in Tura, stops us. He and his daughter has permits to go through. His wife does not. He has made four requests for her permit and nothing has happened. They do not give him any reason for the refusal. It is impossible for us to help him because he does not have his wife's ID number on hand. A large number of people go through quickly on their way to work. Some of them are putting their belts through their pants' loops. At a certain point in time, 15 people go through at once. Only a few cars go through.

7:25 Lively traffic begins from both sides – also from the side of the seamline zone. A bus with little children arrives. There are 20 in the minibus. The policewoman shakes the little hands. Girls / students also go through without any inspection in the pavilion. The teacher, on the other hand, waits to enter the pavilion. A very beautiful girl goes through. A man from the village who 'knows everything' tells us that yesterday the girl got engaged. The cars are inspected superficially.

7:45 We left.

8:00 Reihan/ Barta'a CP

The lower parking lot is still half empty. The tradesmen from Barta'a open only at 9:00.

There is a short queue at the entrance to the gate. Suddenly, lively traffic begins. 'In fives, in fives' – not a single person more can pass to the turnstile. There are no trucks or private cars waiting to go through.

8:15 On the side of the seamline zone there is more traffic. People whom we saw on the other side arrive. It took them between 10 and 15 minutes to go through the inspections. In the turnstile up above, the passage is quick. The passage is open all the time. A man who went through to the seamline zone comes back very excited. He tells us that he was turned back for an additional inspection. An armed guard stands near the window. Two more guards come up. We did not succeed in understanding why they made him return.

8:50 We left.

Translation: Bracha B.A.

It is 06:00 and Aánin checkpoint is open. People claim that yesterday the checkpoint opened at 06:00 instead of 05:00. On the other hand, yesterday the gate opened at 17:00 rather than 15:00 - the hour when people return from work. Why the delay? People want to get home from work! The god of the occupation knows…

The crossing is going smoothly but we can’t see the people waiting at the slope leading down to the checkpoint. We wanted to get closer but were told we were not allowed. We were told that about 70 people were waiting.

One person was held up and was told that he could not enter despite the fact that he had a permit. Why? Because the soldier who was checking saw him in Um Al Fahem. But he has a permit!  He was forced to go back. Evidently every soldier is king and the man was not allowed to return home by way of this checkpoint. 

At Reihan and Shaked checkpointstraffic and crossing were going smoothly, but the occupation continues in its usual manner. A Palestinian whose land has been divided by the fence at the settlement or Reihan has not been able to work his land since 2004, and all his attempts to reach his land have been in vain. He has a Jordanian certificate of land ownership and he is unable to get to his land to cultivate his olives. He recently saw a tractor on his land, uprooting olive trees.  We referred him to several people who could help. He has already tried several places. 

Another person has been denied entry to work in Israel despite the fact that his Israeli employer requested him. Apparently was denied entry because several members of his family have been arrested in the past. The absurd thing is that they have already been released from prison and have received work permits in Israel, while he is still denied entry despite the fact that he is innocent. It's like talking to the wall. 

We met a man with a new car – or rather a used car that he bought one year ago but he cannot take it across the Shaked checkpoint with the new license.  He has already attempted to straighten the matter out at Salem and Ramallah where licenses are issued. He was told to come back every time. He finally went to court and was issued a license allowing him to cross at Shaked, but he is still at the mercy of the soldiers at the checkpoint.  

Translation: Bracha B.A.

14:55 – A'anin Checkpoint

8 workers are waiting at the checkpoint.  The soldiers arrive precisely at 15:00 and the checkpoint opens at 15:05.  By 15:20 about 30 workers have crossed quickly and without mishap.  A tractor arrives to collect workers and sacks of olives from the seamline zone.  When I complained about the litter around the gate, I was told "Ask the IDF spokesman."

15:30 – Shaked Tura Checkpoint

A woman and five children are walking from the checkpoint to Dahar-al-Malakh.  A man is standing next to the inspection booth door, trying again and again to open it.  A van brings a worker to the checkpoint.  By 16:00 four cars have crossed.  Several cars drove families up to the gate and then left. A woman who has come from Barta'a is looking for her ID card in a large, torn, empty bag.  She looks lost and about ready to give up.  Meanwhile a patient, elderly man arrives from the West Bank and finds the ID card that had fallen through a tear into the lining of the bag.  We hugged each other happily.  At 16:00 the checkpoint was quiet.  A teenager and boy from Tura, aged about 12 and 15, return slowly to the checkpoint after working in the olive groves.    

 16:15 – Reihan-Barta'a Checkpoint

There are about 25 people next to the turnstile.  Two windows are open and everyone gets through in about 5 minutes.  Two women are sent back and forth between the two windows and the bench, but are finally allowed through.  At 16:38 a group of 20 workers arrives. The entire group goes through within a minute.  Someone asks me if I heard about the "war" in Tibeh, meaning the Ephraim Gate.  He arrived there at 04:00 in the morning and got through only at 07:30.  Another worker said that he had also been there in the morning and had gotten to work very late because of the delay.  They asked us to do something about it.