06.15: The checkpoint is strikingly
empty. The officer in charge greeted us with: “Get your cars
out of my sight”. We did. At the checkpoint we were told that
it was curfew. Beside this one sentence, they would not talk to us.
But they did not mind us walking over to the Palestinian side,
where taxis usually queue for pedestrians. Two workers denied
passage said it has been like this for a week. Even the old mute
man was not let through. Some lorries started to queue for back to
back loading. One of the drivers told us that yesterday he was sent
back. The name of the game is to not give up, just try time and
again.

07.10 Jabbara: Also quite empty, and a week-old curfew, due to the
shooting that occurred at that checkpoint exactly a week ago. A big
stone closes the entrance to Jabbara. The soldiers look so young,
and yet they put on aggressive masks, saying to us “Yalla,
yalla”. Much more army traffic. Settlers passing through with
no problem. Today the Jabbara Palestinians are the only ones who
may go to and from Jabbara. Pedestrians and cars go through. The
passengers are told to get out of the cars, hand over their IDs,
and lift their shirts – all this at gunpoint. 3 ambulances came
from Tulkarm, were checked and let through. A horse cart tried to
get through from a village nearby, but as he was not from Jabbara,
was sent back. A lorry with a Palestinian number plate was sent
back.

07.45. Out of the blue a convoy of about 8 taxis approached the
checkpoint from the east side. All the passengers got out and
walked toward the checkpoint. They were stopped. Three women, one
of them pregnant with a young child, try to get through. Our
presence enabled two of them to pass. All the men were sent into a
ditch nearby. Slowly the soldiers calm down and check the IDs one
by one, and let the people through. At least half of the group was
let through, and we were told that the other half would be let
through too. On the whole it was a very upsetting and depressing
shift today.