Jalama, Rihan, Monday, July 11, 2005, AMObservers: Hannah H., Leah R. (reporting)Jalama, 05:30-07:45The checkpoint was closed. We called the division. Slowly, soldiers began to appear. They get organized for an exercise, nothing urgent. The checkpoint opened at 6:05 a.m.The people complain about the late opening. They say that the litchi and mango must be harvested in the cool morning hours, before the fruit softens in the sun. The employers get angry at the latecomers. They claim that all the other checkpoints open early. People are pressed, edgy. They want to cross but things are moving very slowly. Men and women are cramped together. It would have been preferable to open two crossings. We left after passing through the “sleeve” (passageway) and our IDs were checked.Rihan, 08:45-11:30A man from Kafin wants to cross to his land with his 15-yaer old son. The man has an agricultural permit and his son is listed on his ID card. The son is not permitted to cross. We called the District Coordination Office (DCO) and we were told to ask the man to bring the son’s birth certificate. I called the man the following day, and he happily reported that the two of them had been allowed to cross. A man from Yabed who needs to get to Furedis is sent to Jalama. A telephone call to the DCO does not help. A Palestinian who is married to an Israeli woman from Umm al-Fahem is not permitted to return to his home, despite the court order he has allowing him to temporarily sojourn in Israel. The man was traveling with his two children, aged 4 and 5, for medical treatment in Jenin. He was allowed to bring the children across, though he himself was not permitted to pass. We spoke to the DCO, and they spoke to the soldiers. The man was told to wait. When we left at 11:30, the man was still waiting. At 1 p.m. we called him, and he was still waiting. At 3 p.m. we spoke to him again, and he told us that his wife had come to take the children. He went to Jalama.I would like to note the positive attitude of the DCO.