Tarqumiya
The Tarqumiya crossing is quiet mid-morning. Very few people.
On our way south we passed a new plaza between the entrance to Hebron and the entrance to Shuyukh-Sa’ir, which finally opened.
We brought many bags of clothing (mostly) to Fadel, our “adoptee” in Umm Fukara.
We meet (over very sweet tea) his two wives and some of his children, and his two brothers. They’re slowly moving into the house he’s gradually building, an improvement over the damp, smoky cave they lived in when we visited them in the past.
Raya connects him by phone with a contractor she knows to try to help him find work in Israel.
We also try to add another of Fadel’s daughters to the list of participants in the beach day; for some reason, he registered only her two sisters.
We managed, after speaking with Rachel Afik, to get her on the waiting list in case someone doesn’t show up at the last minute.
We drove to Kafr Zif in response to Haifa’s invitation – she’s a friend of the teacher from the kindergarten Michal reported on the day before yesterday.
We were hosted splendidly; everything was delicious. We had long conversations (a little in English, the rest translated by our driver); some of her female relatives and their children were present, serving (drinks and food) graciously, everyone smiling at one another.
All the roads are quiet; we saw no military vehicles nor anyone detained.
Tarqumiya CP
See all reports for this place-
The Tarqumiya Checkpoint is one of the largest and busiest checkpoints where people and goods cross into Israel. It is located on the Separation Barrier close to the Green Line, on Road 35 (connecting Beer Sheva and Hebron). It is run by the Israel Defense Ministry’s Crossings Administration with civilian secuirty companies running the day to day operations. The checkpoint is indeed open to vehicles in both directions 24/7, but Palestinians are prevented from crossing in vehicles, except in special cases. MachsomWatch activists visit the checkpoint as it opens at 3:45 am, in order to observe the daily passage of nearly 10,000 Palestinian workers. The workers arrive from throughout the Southern West Bank. Our activists report on the tremendous overcrowding at this checkpoint; they have observed young men climbing and scrambling on the fences and roofs of the ‘access cages’. This is how the work day begins for those who ‘build the land of Israel’. updated November 2019
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