Jalama, Sunday, October 31, 2004, A.M. Observers: Ana N., Masha S., Sarit R., Netta G. (reporting) 06:50- Drivers wait in the parking lot for workers as they come out of the “sleeve.” Most of the workers are employed in olive picking and picking grapefruit. They complain that the checkpoint opens after 6 A.M. and not at 5 as needed. The checkpoint commander, a staff sergeant, does not deny the fact. He explains that soldiers report to their posts every morning on time, but the drills, prior to opening the gates, change daily. To our question regarding the actual inspection that takes place in the sleeve, they say that the regulations are more comfortable than before. They request that another sleeve be opened, to expedite the passage. They claim that today inspection is extra slow because female soldiers are on duty. (We weren’t happy with that comment.) 07:15 – We got as close as we were allowed to the waiting shed. There were dozens of people waiting. A priest and a nun were trying to help arrange passage for more Palestinians who were waiting separately by the gas station. The staff sergeant asked that we not stay too long where we were standing due to a shooting alert at that spot. He did allow us to go to Ganeem and Kadeem, as long as we didn’t stop by checkpoint 250. We gave up on driving in that direction. A Jeep came along driven by a lieutenant who ordered us to immediately leave the place. As we know, we are allowed to stand only at the parking lot. 08:00 – A Red Crescent ambulance passes to the Israeli side of the checkpoint and parks next to a military truck. After a while, a stretcher, apparently carrying a corpse, is put into the ambulance, which crosses back to the Palestinian side. The details of the sad incident are not clear and the staff sergeant says it is of no interest to the soldiers at the CP. 08:20 – The workers continue to gradually move out of the sleeve, putting their belts back on. The routine of “rolling up the shirt and undoing the belts” (for inspection) occurs, as far as we were able to see, prior to entering the sleeve. In the parking lot, there is a bus awaiting the group escorted by the priest and the nun. The passengers take their turn going into the sleeve; they are Christians from Jenin who are going to visit the their holy places in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. 08:40 – The back-to-back checkpoint (for transferring merchandise) is open. A few trucks wait on the Israeli side. We observed two tankers inside the concrete sleeve and a few trucks by the ramps. 08:50 – We left the checkpoint frustrated. The sleeve is sealed and we are shut off from the inspection process. We are also banned from going to the waiting shed or any other spot except for the parking lot. We are left with no information and with no ability to assist anybody, not even slightly.