Rihan, Tuesday, April 5, 2005, AMObservers: Joy H., Ricki Y., Miriam L., Tammi S. (reporting)10:00 – 12:00Summary: A tough day. The soldiers are strict and unpleasant, the commander works by the toughest rules and regulations and doesn’t use his common sense.At the pedestrian passage, the female soldier, A., is rude.At the vehicle passage, A notorious female military police soldier, who the Palestinians refer to as “the one who always makes trouble, she does it on purpose.” The commander, Y., wouldn’t listen, neither to us nor to the Palestinians. His top priority was that we would not stand in the checkpoint vicinity (between the fences) because we “distract the soldiers from doing their work.”The main problems observed by us during our shift – and not for the first time were as follows:1. A merchant who owns a business of import/export of home appliances, in Barta’a, started his business 6 years ago (“before the fence”) and he lives with his family in Ya’abed. He cannot go through the checkpoint because he has a “commercial permit” only, which is valid at the gates of Jalama and Taibe. This also allows him to travel all over the country. He explains that driving through Jalama, on his way to Barta’a, takes between 2-3 hours (depends on availability of transportation and the line at the CP.) and costs him from 50-120 shekels (depends on number of passengers in the cab). All that instead of 15 minutes and 10 shekels, the cost of and the time to get from Ya’abed to Barta’a. Can someone explain this injustice and stupidity? Perhaps Fuad, the head of the Salem District Coordination Office (DCO), who had promised, in a conversation with us, to take care of that matter, so that about 50 merchants from the villages located east of the fence, who run businesses in Barta’a, which is in the seamline zone, would finally receive passage permits for Rihan.2. Farmers with permits for gate No. 12 (which is closed), arrived at the CP, and were denied passage. A call to the Tul-Karem DCO, was of help, and they went through. 3. An elderly woman wearing an embroidered dress, who has a work permit (for Barta’a), also through Jalama, arrived at the gate. In this case, a call to Bassem at the Salem DCO, didn’t work. He said, “This is up to the commander on site.” The commander decided not to allow her through. 4. Two UN cars arrived to the cp. In the first car was the former international team, in the second car was a Palestinian M.D. and nurses on their way to a clinic in Barta’a. They were detained and until we left, they hadn’t gone through. Again, poor judgment of the commander on site prevailed over common sense and humanity. 5. A man from Barta’a who had bought three sacks of za’atar yesterday in the West Bank and couldn’t go through, tries his luck today. Once again, he is denied passage. Bassem, from the DCO, to whom we turned, claims that apparently this is a commercial quantity, and if it were 3 smaller bags, he could have gone through. Nonetheless he promised to call the DCO representative at the CP, and suggest that he talk to the commander. But the commander, as stated above, has a problem with common sense So, for the gentleman from Barta’a, all that he could do was to shed tears over the loss of money and the za’atar, which was getting dry. From our talks with people we learned that there are frequent surprise barriers on the roads, and there is no longer the good feeling of a few weeks ago.Is there an interest in transforming people’s hope into despair, anger, bitterness, hatred and maybe even to turn them against us?