Jubara, Thursday 22 July 2004 AM Observers: Esti S., Lia L., Ayala H. (guest) & Hadassah T. (reporting) colour=red> 07:00 — IrtahOn the road towards the main gate, [Israeli] employers of Palestinians from the Jenin area rushed towards us. The Palestinians have been forbidden to cross at this checkpoint and were being directed to Jalama checkpoint near Jenin. It’s a new directive, and they wanted us to help the Palestinians cross here, nevertheless.We went through the gate without hindrance and saw in front of us, behind the concrete cubes, an angry crowd calling to us to help them cross even though they were from villages near Jenin. The reservists manning the checkpoint , mostly officers, were busy trying to quieten the crowds. They took no notice of us and our repeated requests to re-check the order. People have known for a week, they said, that if they lived in Jenin and the surrounding region, they couldn’t cross through Irtah.We phoned K. at the local District Co-ordinating Office (DCO ) [the army section that handles civilian matters and usually has representatives at the checkpoints, ostensibly to alleviate the lot of the Palestinians] . He maintained that this was the order, and it wasn’t within his sphere of responsibility to change it. We then phoned the relevant army operations unit only to be told that this was the instruction and it couldn’t be changed. The Palestinians reported that Jalama checkpoint hadn’t opened this morning, and they couldn’t cross at Barta’a checkpoint. Another phone call and we were told that Jalama checkpoint was open and there was no problem in crossing. We continued phoning and were answered courteously, from within air-conditioned rooms. But here – the anger had soared sky-high, and the despair ,too. The question is – what difference does it make at which checkpoint people cross, as long as they have a permit to enter Israel? Why is the Baka checkpoint closed and why can’t villagers from the surrounding area cross there? And the most significant question of them all – why are imagination and creativity only applied to complicate matters, not simplify them?08:00 — JubaraHere, the despair is more “tolerable”. There are roundabouts / traffic circles, asphalt roads, the Occupation is being perpetuated, for ever, and it’s unbearably hot.