13:50-15:40

Photos:

Routine farming in the area of fertile Jiftlik 

   A glance at the embankment that blocks     the passage from east to west.

 

Desolate Tayasir checkpoint, a glance from the deserted camp

13:50 – Bezek Checkpoint – We passed it

14:10 – Allon Road (Highway 578) Gochya Gate

We don’t see the soldiers in the areas of training and that is a good thing (who knows what they are doing in another place).  The army camp close to the checkpoint also looks abandoned.  We were impressed by the work that was invested in elevating the embankment along the Allon Road.  This embankment blocks the passage from east of the Biq’a to west in order to force the car owners to cross only at the checkpoints.  We met with A., who lives with his family beyond the checkpoint.  He pointed out to us that in these days, there are no soldiers.

14:30 – Hamra Checkpoint

The road that approaches the checkpoint was empty when we arrived and when the cars started to arrive, there were 3-5 cars in line.  Buses and transits with workers began to arrive.  Also, on the road from the west, we didn’t see cars waiting.  The checkpoint still functions with  one lane; the northern lane is blocked.

Two soldiers (from the “Lions of the Biq’aa” battalion) came to find out who we were.  They hadn’t heard of or know about MachsomWatch.  They asked that we go to the covered area, and they also received an explanation that we will stand our ground and we didn’t go.  In exchange, they requested to know our names and one of them agreed to tell us his name.

A tender turned in the northern direction and the driver contemplated us.  Perhaps he was weighing whether to say something, but he continued on his way.   Two tractors, loaded with bundles of harvest went down past the tilled areas south of the road.

15:00 We left.

In the ascent to Checkpoint Tayasir, in the area of army training north of the road, we saw soldiers stationed in the area.

15:20 – Tayasir Checkpoint

Today also there are no signs of presence of soldiers in the place except for a container of water at the bottom of the tower.  We toured the abandoned camp from where we photographed the empty checkpoint.  On our way back, under the settlement of Rotem, we found a new white, shiny building.  It would seem this is not a residential building.

15:40 –  Bezek Checkpoint – We passed it.