Translator: Louise L.

14:10  QalqiliyaThere are 25 cars at the entrance to the town and just a few at the exit. The checking is quick, or there is no checking at all. After having observed for a few minutes we leave. The entrance to Azun from the direction of Asbitaviv is open, but from this point on, maybe even from further away, one can already see the areas blocked off by concertina barbed wire as well as the fence along the road. It continues far beyond the blocked entrance to Azun, where some pedestrians are trying to climb the “mountain” [a threatening dirt mound]. Not everybody is successful. The threatening fence continues many kilometers along the main road. The work is still going on and more concertina barbed wire is being put up.

When we pass the lonely house before the entrance to Kadum we realize that it is empty. However, on the hills on the opposite side of the road we notice that some young people are settling down. The development of their activities should be checked. We drive on to Jit, because Raya has asked us to give the camera to Zechariah.

15:00  AnabtaThe work to widen the road is going on, and meanwhile the traffic is moving into and out of the town almost without delay. We approach the soldiers at the entrance checkpoint. They want to talk to us, but in a moment the commander arrives asking us to move back. We see no reason for negotiation.

15:20  The“Te’enim” gateWe wait for a few minutes until a soldier opens the gate and then drive on to the pastoral village. The street is empty.At the entrance through the Children’s gate the soldiers check only those who have permits.On the wall we see a large sign having been issued by the District Coordination Office with pictures of various permits and written explanations. A good initiative.

Having been asked by the Machsomwatch team to go to the checkpoint at Eyal we drive there. We look at the people gathering at the checkpoint to return home and then we drive on to the parking lot. From there we have a better view of the line. We estimate that the cars have to wait 15-30 minutes to enter the checkpoint. We think that it would be a good idea to ask one of the people waiting in line to call us when he is let through [of course we have to give him our phone number], and so we will be able to check more precisely how long the passage through the checkpoint takes. It would also be possible to ask the observers at Qalqiliya to do the same thing in the morning. We spent about half an hour at Eyal.