15:05 – A’anin Checkpoint

We were a bit late arriving because of heavy traffic on the way, but the army arrived on time.  The checkpoint is supposed to open at 15:00 and most of the people had already crossed.  A few stragglers were still arriving and crossing.  A young man was standing next to the gate without crossing and repeatedly calling someone on his phone every couple of minutes.  Evidently he was worried about his father, who had not yet arrived.   It was only 15:20 and the checkpoint is open until 15:30.  The father and other people arrived on time and crossed.    . 

15:35 – Tura Checkpoint

Work is being done on the road that leads from the army camp to the checkpoint and to the settlements and the Shahak Industrial Zone.  No one was working at this hour but there was a line of cars and two policemen were trying to direct traffic.   

There was very little vehicle or pedestrian traffic.  The electric gate at the vehicle checkpoint opened and closed constantly like a strange ballet dance.  The garbage container had been emptied but there was a lot of trash scattered around it.

16:10 – We drove past Barta’a Checkpoint.  There were a lot of workers coming back from work and the parking lot, the sides of the road, and the additional parking lots were filled with cars.  We continued on.  There were also a lot of cars parked on both sides of the bridge.  The road between Emricha and Yaabed was blocked “as usual” and an army vehicle was parked nearby.   There were tobacco leaves that had been hung up to dry along the sides of the road.

16:20 – Yaabed Dotan Checkpoint

There were vehicles from the army and the border patrol along the road, but the checkpoint itself was not manned and traffic was flowing freely in both directions. 

16:30 – Barta’a Reihan Checkpoint, Palestinian Side

We parked on the side of the road because the parking lot was full and disorderly.  A man has begun selling cakes from his car and another two were selling soft drinks and snacks from booths they had set up.  A lot of people were coming back from work in their cars, taxis, or various transport vehicles.   

Our old friend A. greeted us as we were walking back to our car. He is the authoritative contractor who served as a volunteer attendant in the morning until the Palestinian Authority appointed their own attendants.   A short time after he ended his volunteer work as an attendant A. was banned from entering Israel by the security forces.  He worked as a building contractor at various locations in Israel.   We didn’t ask him what was going on now with his building projects.   It was enough seeing the unhappy expression on his face.  He looked like a person who was in mourning.  He had not yet spoken to our friends Sylvia or Tami to get help, and preferred to turn to an attorney who would demand a high retainer fee ahead of time.  We encouraged him to talk to our friends to get help.  We wished him a happy Eid al Adha holiday and he remembered to wish us a happy Rosh Hashanah.

17:00 We left among a long line of cars that hat brought passengers to the checkpoint and was now returning to Israel.