Jalama, Tuesday 12.4.05, a.m. Observers: Yocheved G. , Chassida S. (reporting)06:00 – 07:30 06:00 – the place looked deserted. Quiet. Even the post at the entrance to the car park area wasn’t manned at this early morning hour. But the parking lot was full with vehicles of contractors, waiting for their workers.We proceeded inside the ‘sleeve’ and almost got as far as the last inspection post, where papers are inspected, and only then two soldiers sally forth. They both introduced themselves as the “checkpoint commander”, only one of them had a name tag on his shirt, no rank, and they had sent us back to the edge of the ‘sleeve’. This is the only spot where we are allowed to stand (two plastic chairs waited for us at that spot!)Slowly, we were able to see what was going on. Gradually, people started coming out of the sleeve, as they were putting on the cloths which they had to take off. Between 6:00 and 6:15 only 4(!!) workers got out, this pace went on until 6:45.Women told us that they get out of the house as early as midnight, arrive at the gate at 02:00 and wait to be the first in line. Their permits allow them to go through the inspection post at 5:00 a.m, but the checkpoint opens only at 6:00 or 6:30.In the meantime the car park area, filled up with vehicles of employers.A pleasant behaving soldier, arrived from no-where, his rank is Staff Sergeant and he belongs to the security unit (which is different from the passage unit, of the military police). The annoying slow inspection, according to him, was caused by mal-function of the metal detector “But we have found a way to overcome it, until the technician will get here”.And this is the way at our checkpoints, the metal detector is out of order, the X-ray machine cease to work, the computers loose power, it seems that there is always a “Force Major”, which delays people at the cp. Is this the famous high level of technology of the IDF ?Perhaps, with the change of the chief of staff the contractor who service this equipment could be replaced as well?? Observing from the distance, we could figure out that there were about 100 people who were waiting to go through the inspection by the time we’ve ended our shift.Men go out to work in Israel, mostly in agriculture. Among them many women, some of them at age 70. They need to obtain a working permit and a magnetic card. They need to be in contact with an employer. The Palestinian employment agency , in Jenin, contact the Israeli employment agency in Afula. Unmarried women can not receive permits, even if they are young. Married women do go out to work, but they all have small children at home and they can’t always have the right conditions to go to work. That leave the grandmothers, who go to work at an older age.The main problem. As was expressed by the employers, is the late hour, in which they get to work. The days are already warm. Some of them have to get as far as the Golan Heights, which means, following the ordeal at the checkpoint, they have another hour and a half of travel, before they started their work day. They ended up working in the heat of the day, but who cares?There are people who expect us to do something about it. Others tell us” Report this, advertise it in the internet and in news papers.We regret to say that most of the time we are successful in doing more than this bare minimum.