Jalama, Shaked, Rihan, Sunday, February 20, 2005, AMObservers: Neta G., Ana N-S., (reporting)05:50 – Jalama checkpointIt is dark outside, and we drive early to be on time for the passage of workers at the CP. Throughout our drive, we were hoping to see the sunrise, but it seems as if the sun refused to show up, hiding behind dark gray clouds. There were dozens of workers with valid passage permits on site, waiting since 05:00. According to the soldiers, the CP opens at 05:45, they do try to open even earlier than that, but they don’t always succeed.We moved to the waiting shed, where we met acquaintances. The atmosphere is rather relaxed. People wait patiently without crowding or stress.The women seemed happy to see us and we sat next to them in a circle on the ground, on gravel; in a short while we felt it on our behinds and got up.The soldiers let the people through with no delays, though from time to time the post would close down for the passage of a military vehicle through the inspection lane. It is rather difficult to see those going through the inspection lane and how they react to the soldier’s metallic voice — a voice without a face. When asked about it, they say that some of the soldiers are polite, and even welcome them with greetings, while others are not nice at all.In general, they ask, what is the point of raising their shirts or unbuttoning their pants, while the entire contents of their pockets is on the inspection table, and the Magnumeter does not alert the inspectors.As usual, there is no way of going to checkpoint No. 250.At 06:55, we leave. A delicate dripping on the window of the car, reminds us that winter is still here. The sun still hides its face from us, but we do enjoy the blaze of colors of the blooming flowers — a breathtaking sight.07:45 – Shaked gateThere is a military Jeep parked outside the closed gate. The soldiers are waiting for those who are late. Today they didn’t show up. They repeat their claim that they follow the students from afar and come to open the gate for the latecomers. They were unable to tell us the exact hours of opening and closing the gate. Their answer is “it depends.” Around 08:00 a father and his teenaged son arrived at the gate from the direction of the village of Tura, on rout to Rihan. After examining their papers, they were let through. They said they were going to look for work in the villages.The deep mud hasn’t been taken care of. We waited about 10 minutes and then left.08:20 – Rihan checkpointRain pours down nonstop, thin, transparent, like soft threads. Quite pleasant. It is not cold. A slow stream of passersby crosses the checkpoint, mostly in the direction of Barta’a.Israelis wishing to go to Barta’a need to enter through West Barta’a; it is not clear why. There is hardly any passage of vehicles carrying merchandise. A pickup truck loaded with boxes of vegetables is inspected thoroughly and is allowed to go on its way. The taxicab parking lot is empty of people.The soldiers cooperate with us reluctantly, telling us to stand in the shed only and not to get too close to them.09:00 – The stream of pedestrians grows bigger and groups of people arrive in cabs. The rain grows heavier as well.The soldiers of the new battalion try hard to do their best. They follow orders without being hard on the Palestinians. They show no extra sympathy or favor. “Ta’al “(come) and “Rooch” (go), etc.Two youngsters holding passage permits to gate No. 12 go through the CP with no delays. So does the owner of a pickup truck loaded with sacks of hay, following two rounds of a strict inspection.09:35 – On our way to leave the post, a soldier asks us to go through the Magnumeter. This is due to the fact that we have been in contact with some local, and we might have been infected with some sort of a disease, which requires an urgent detection. As we walked back, Netta stumbled over a metal pole and fell. Her leg was twisted in an alarming way and she could hardly walk.The soldiers were helpful, asked for medical assistance and prepared some tea for her. The CP commander said: “I hope that this time, you’ll write something positive about us.” Apparently the hostility toward us results partially from what we write about them in our reports.After more than an hour, Netta was taken by ambulance to the ER in Hadera, where she was told that she had to undergo surgery. As I write this report, she is on the operating table and my heart goes out to her, very much so.