Jalama, Shaked, Rihan, Sunday, October 16, 2005, AM Observers: Anna N.Sh., Neta. J., (reporting)Jalama, 05.55 – 06.30The closure continues. Only the olive harvesters are allowed to go through to their work in Israel. They pass on foot through the vehicle passage. They hold permits for one month, allowing them to board in Israel. The workers tell us they don’t use the boarding permits because of Ramadan; they prefer to share the festive dinner with their families.Workers from villages south of Jenin who work in the Netanya area complain about having to use the Jalama checkpoint. They were told that only after the Jewish holiday of Sukkot would they be able to use the Irtah checkpoint, at the end of the “holiday closure.” The manager of the Jalama sewing workshop, an Israeli from Um al-Fahem, and the seamstresses from Mukibleh are allowed through despite the closure.Shaked, 07.10 – 07.45The gate is open. Schoolchildren cross over to the West Bank and farmers to the seam line zone. They all hold permits for this specific gate.Rihan, 07.55 – 09.30People crowd by the pedestrian entrance gate. They complain that the gate opens only at 06.00 and not at 05.00 as stated on the permits.The soldiers say the orders from the brigade are to open the gate at 06.00.A man with a Palestinian ID arrives and presents a legal document concerning the issue of an Israeli ID. His Israeli wife is waiting on the other side of the checkpoint to drive him to the Ministry of Interior in Nazareth to obtain the blue (Israeli) ID. He is not allowed to cross over because he did not get clearance from the District Coordination Office (DCO). Apparently he was told he no longer needed this clearance. The DCO representative at the checkpoint is trying to clarify the matter over the phone. He is told the man needs to go to the Salem DCO to receive an entrance permit for Israel.Two residents from Kafin who hold an agricultural permit for Gate 12 were not allowed to go through. They had probably missed the entry interval at “their” gate. A woman soldier explains that if they let these two through today, 30 more will arrive tomorrow.The officers of the Terminal Unit of the Military Police and their commanding officer Colonel Oren arrive at the checkpoint. They are getting ready for the opening of the terminal, which is delayed because of the closure. We tried to inform them about the problems we encounter. The discussion was polite but futile.At the vehicle checkpoint the traffic was very thin.