Jubara, Ar-Ras, Anabta – Monday PM, 29 May 2006 Watchers: Ziona S., Yona E. (reporting) Jubara checkpoint, 13:45The sole soldier at the closed entrance gate to Jubara opens the gate for us after a short delay and a clarifying phone call. The Schoolchildren’s Gate is wide open. Two soldiers preparing their lunch don’t even bother to look at us. Ar-Ras CPWe drive to the Ar-ras checkpoint, park the car and get out. The soldier in the watchtower calls us and asks us to stay near the watchtower, since there were two attempts to stab soldiers this morning. At the northern checkpoint, opposite us, two soldiers check pedestrians and vehicles stretched out in a long line: taxis and trucks. The soldier from the watch post offers us information, even before he was asked:“That’s it – the segregation from north to south is over. Anyone can pass – including inhabitants of Jenin of all ages. But what does it help them – they still must wait for hours.” “When was the instruction to terminate the segregation issued?” “One or two weeks ago”In answer to our question why people get out of the taxis at the checkpoint and cross on foot, if there are no restrictions, the soldier answers: “In order to save time. Cars wait for hours at the checkpoint” “Why?” “For the security of the soldiers”Anabta checkpoint, 14:15At the Einav junction, on our way to the checkpoint, some taxi drivers stop us and complain about their problems of livelihood. They live in Shufi. Until now they used to stand and wait for passengers near the bridge, east of the Jubara checkpoint, opposite Abu Husni’s house. Mostly Israel Arabs used their services to transport their family members. Now, they say, the soldiers no longer allow them to stand there and they really harass them.14:20: An IDF armored vehicle is stationed in the middle of the road, next to the watchtower. The soldiers get organized in their checking stations. The checkpoint is paralyzed for ten minutes. The armored vehicle departs and everything starts to move rapidly. First the cars entering Anabta are allowed to pass without being checked. Then the cars leaving Anabta are allowed to leave. The soldiers check the drivers’ and passengers’ ID cards arbitrarily. Within a short time the traffic jams on both sides are dissolved. However soon there is again a long line of cars. 14:40: From time to time the soldiers demand to see the ID cards of passengers in the back seats. They detain the taxis while verifying details of their documents.14:45: On the way back to our car, some drivers hail us and ask to know what is happening. One of them drives a Subaru with an Israeli license plate and tells us that he is a Palestinian, married to an Israeli and works for an Israeli company. He has an Israeli resident ID card. He has a home in Jenin and one in Israel in a village near the Golani Junction [in the Galilee]. Sometimes he is permitted to pass and sometimes not. He will try his luck today