Jubara, Ephraim Gate & Anabta, Tuesday, 29.11.05, AMObservers: Maya M, Shlomit S, Maya S, Elinoar B (reporting)06:15-08:30 and again on the way back from Beit Iba (10:00-10:15)A frustrating, depressing and saddening morning.The morning starts in a fairly promising way. The soldiers by the village gate work efficiently, both blue and green/orange IDs are checked quickly and exit by the side-gate on their way to Israel. Things change dramatically when we go up to gate 753 (the former Children’s gate).Today there’s havoc at the gate. As reported by other MW observers, people are sent back and forth from Irtah to this gate and vice a versa. This fact is denied by the various officers we talk to – ” ‘they’ know very well… they are lying” etc. Up here we find a few dozen angry Palestinians on the other side of the fence, a closed gate and soldiers who yell at them. By this time (just before seven) they should have been long gone, but they “misbehave”. They won’t pass till they line up “boys and girls separately”. Indeed the people are angry and push each other. Palestinians carrying valid “red” permits (allowing them to work in Israel “excluding Eilat”) – won’t pass. One such harassed man who was sent up here from Irtah is so angry, he tears his permit to pieces. We call the brigade. They’ll send somebody. They do. A Hummer arrives, a soldier wielding a gun talks to them (in Arabic), they move back. The sergeant in charge opens the gate. The agricultural workers pass, all the others are not allowed in. Two phone-calls to the DCO: one to K. the DCO head, who says that these people should exit through Ephraim Gate. The line is faulty, so we call O. the DCO liaison officer. According to him nobody carrying this “red” permit is allowed to pass to Israel today. We tell the waiting people we couldn’t do anything for them. They are standing there, holding on to the chicken-wire fence, defeated. They are not angry, they even thank us. The sight of them turning and moving slowly away is heartbreaking. Three women with Jubara permits and an old man with a donkey somehow missed the opening of the gate. The sergeant refuses to open it for them. Here we lose patience and interfere. Maybe brandishing my cell phone helped, but he did let them in. Ephraim Gate It is now a little after eight. They few workers we meet tell us the “terminal” opened at 05:15. A few buses with the prisoners’ families on their way to visit them in Israeli prisons are still there. Anabta An endless line of vehicles stretches from the Tulkarm side to to the by now permanent checkpoint. The soldiers manning it today are rather efficient and don’t detain drivers unduly while we’re there. The barrier is open and cars can pass from Tulkarm to Nablus, but certainly not “freely”. We leave for Beit Iba. No roadblocks on the way there. On our way back, though, we do encounter one. A short stay in Jubara (10:00-10:15): the checkpoint is deserted. A friendly soldier wants to know why are we a women only organization.