‘Azzun, Falamiya North Checkpoint (914), Jayyus, Khirbet ‘Isla Checkpoint) 1231
Agricultural gates: Falamiya, Jayyus North, Jayyus South,’Isla, ‘Azzun.
Summary: Ramadan is in the air. Almost no one outside of their houses at this hour. Very few people going to work. The army opens and closes Gates all along the route, north to south.
6:00 Falamiya 914
The gate opens late. Laziness. It seems that most people would prefer to sleep in today. Conversation about the sea. Kfar Jamal is organizing a trip to the sea and they are talking to us about their fears. Women are afraid to go out without their husbands, one of the husbands says. The story which broke our hearts was about a donkey who disappeared. The one that appeared in a photo last week in the colorful field. He disappeared. They say that he smelled something and decided to track it down. Today there is another donkey, on the same red carpet. A worker looks in the direction of the soldiers and asks us: “where else in the world does a farmer need a permit from the army to get to his field?” He looks and chuckles a big chuckle. Sad.
6:30 Jayyus North
A woman on the shovel of a tractor. (photo)
7:07 Jayyus South
No one. The military jeep waits…no one comes. The fields of za’atar are conspicuous in their intensity.
7:20 Khirbet ‘Isla
Two people go through. the soldiers close up. On our way back, we meet a youth walking in the direction of the checkpoint.. We go back to find out what will happen to him. We find other people waiting. A father with 2 sons, with a donkey and wagon. Within a few minutes, the jeep arrives again. He opens the gate for them, jokes with the Palestinian. When we ask him, the soldier says he has some instinct about the Palestinians. They go out, and they close, and the solution is in the hands of god.
8:00 Azzun
The streets are empty. Clean. A deep monologue with one of the villagers who explains to us that we can’t understand anything about their life under occupation and within Palestinian society.
'Azzun
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Azoun (updated February 2019)
A Palestinian town situated in Area B (under civil Palestinian control and Israeli security control),
on road 5 between Nablus and Qalqiliya, east of Nabi Elias village. The inhabitants are allowed to construct and improve infrastructures. The Separation Fence has confiscated lands belonging to the town's people. In 2018 olive tree groves owned by one of its inhabitants were confiscated for the sake of paving a road to bypass Nabi Elias. Azoun population numbers 13,000, its economic state dire. Its infrastructures are poor, neglect and poverty rampant. In the meantime, the town council has completed paving an internal road for the inhabitants' welfare.
Because of its proximity to the Jewish settler-colony of Karnei Shomron and its outposts, the town suffers the intense presence of the Israeli army, especially at nighttime: soldiers enter homes, arrest suspects, trash the house and sometimes ruin it, as they do in numerous places in the West Bank. At times a checkpoint closes the entrance to the town, so no one can come in or get out.
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Falamiya North (914)
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Falamiya North (914) Opens 3 times a day for about 40 minutes each time. This checkpoint has extremely important for all farmers in the area since the previous, Falamya checkpoint opening routine of continuously open for 12 hours has been discontinued. This took place after the separation fence was moved westward following the High Court of Justice.
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Jayyus North (935)
See all reports for this placeKhirbet 'Isla (1231)
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