K.

06:40  Habla

Soldiers are there but the gate is still closed.

06:45  The gate opens.  People cross pretty quickly; the reservists are polite.  Palestinians argue among themselves about whose turn it is and the soldiers try to calm them down.

The two buses with children arrive.  Previous reports have mentioned the problem regarding the time the gate opens in the afternoon.  Someone should check to see whether it’s been resolved.  School ends at 13:15, but as of now the gate opens only at 13:45.

07:30  On our way to theJayyus agricultural gate we pass an army Hummer parked at the entrance to 'Azzun.

07:40  The gate is open and people are still crossing.  We meet two new Ecumenical volunteers.

A Palestinian from Jayyus with a cart isn’t allowed to cross even though his land is very near this gate, because his permit specifies Gate 927 Falamya, not Gate 943 Jayyous.  He asks them to let him through just this once but the MP refuses.  The soldiers suggest he arrange to have the permit changed, and then he’ll be able to cross through both gates.  They ignore the fact that he’ll lose a day of work by going to the DCO, and will also waste valuable time now by having to make this unnecessary detour.

Off he goes to the other gate…A child is also refused entry for the same reason and starts walking the long way around.  We pick him up on the road and drive him to Falamya gate, where the Palestinian with the donkey cart is waiting for him.  This is a small, seemingly trivial example of the occupation’s insensitivity and the offhanded daily harassment to which the Palestinians are subjected.

At 07:55 the soldiers begin packing up and prepare to close the gates.  A Palestinian rides up on a donkey, and even though it’s already 07:59! the soldiers wait for him!…Have they read what I wrote/thought in the previous paragraph?

We drive through Kafr Jamal, Kafr Sur, Saffarin and Beit Lid to Deir Sharaf.

We get on Route 60 to Shavei Shomron and don’t believe our eyes.  The checkpoint has disappeared, the gate in the wall has been blocked and people cross freely without supervision.

We go down to Deir Sharaf, have coffee and cake and return home on route 55.

Traffic has been diverted to the Zufin crossing, apparently because of an accident at the Eliyahu crossing.  The MP inspects us very carefully (we hadn’t removed the Machsom-watch banners).  Our guest, an Israeli living in Canada, is subjected to a special interrogation.  We pass the Eyal crossing and stop at a café run by a resident of Zur Yig’al, whose prices are “Israeli, not Palestinian,” according to a man from Tayibe who works there.