5:40 – Mini-busses and other vehicles were parked near the junction eastern entrance to Barta’a waiting for workers to arrive.  To our surprise workers did not arrive, and two army vehicles were parked next to one of the holes in the separation fence.

05:50 – Reihan – Barta’a Checkpoint, Seamline Zone Side

Many workers were waiting for rides.  Some were sitting under the awning while others were sitting on the curb or among the cars.  We walked down the sleeve to the entrance to the terminal while a steady stream of workers walked in the opposite direction towards the parking lot on their way to work.  In the terminal two biometric machines were operating and taking care of all the traffic.  People told us that there were no  delays because there were three machines operating that scanned people’s belongings.   One person was going in the opposite direction.  The entire sleeve has been fenced in but the walls are not yet completed. 

On our way from Reihan – Barta’a Checkpoint to A’anin checkpoint we saw people crossing through a hole in the separation fence.  There was no army vehicle there to deter them.

06:30 – A’anin Checkpoint – A strange story with a happy ending

The soldiers were already present but had not yet opened the middle gate of the checkpoint which was the only one that was locked.  The soldiers were detaining a Palestinian woman whose relatives had arrived from Um  Reihan to drive her to Um Al Reihan.  The woman lives in the Bedouin camp below the checkpoint in the seamline zone.  For some unknown reason the soldiers thought otherwise.  According to them, the District Coordination and Liaison Office  claimed that the woman was banned for a month by the security services.  Meanwhile a vehicle from the District Coordination and Liaison Office  arrived.  The soldiers opened the gate  and about 50 people and four tractors crossed.   The woman was still detained and her relatives gave up and drove away.  A young girl in a school uniform arrived from the same Bedouin camp, entered the checkpoint area, and shouted at the soldiers in Arabic.  The woman, who was evidently her mother, pushed her out, evidently afraid that her behavior was dangerous.   At 07:55 the woman was released and reunited with her daughter.  

07:15 – Tura – Shaked Checkpoint

A man told us that this morning the checkpoint had opened on time at 06:30.  He claimed that there was a new entrance road to the settlement of Shaked being planned that would run next to the village of Dahar El Malik in the seamline zone opposite the checkpoint.  Two students were waiting under the shed for their ride to school in Um Reihan.   Girls arrived from Dahar Al Malik to cross the checkpoint to their school  in Tura on the other side of the fence.  Luckily the younger students from Dahar Al Malik have a school in their own village.  

A’anin Checkpoint – Epilogue 

At 16:10 our friend M. phoned to report that the checkpoint had not opened, and it should have opened at 15:30.  I called the District Coordination and Liaison Office  and the soldier   already knew that the agricultural checkpoint at Tibeh Romena and A’anin had not opened on time today due to “problems”.   At 16:40 the soldier reported that the soldiers were at Checkpoint 154 (Tibeh Romena) and would arrive at 214 (A’anin)  when they finished.  She explained that there were not enough soldiers to man both checkpoint at the same time.  At 16:50  they arrived and opened A’anin Checkpoint – an hour and twenty minutes late.