We entered via Road 55. We decided to see the passage in the Habla agricultural checkpoint that leads to the nurseries. We came in time for the gate’s opening, at 13:00.
A vehicle with 4 female soldiers came and the gates were opened on time, but people were only allowed through about 10 minutes later. The soldiers sat and talked, getting organized to allow people and vehicles through, while people waited in the sun or inside their cars.
As we waited people told us that sometimes everything goes well, but at others, especially when the officer in charge was not there, soldiers behave badly, swearing etc.
This time inspections were very thorough, although most vehicles belonged to the nurseries and were filled with plants. Only when a single person or vehicle went through could the next one approach the soldiers who check the IDs and then the objects or the vehicle. This time there were no problems or untoward behavior on the part of the soldiers.

At 13:35, after all the waiting people on foot or in vehicles had passed, the soldiers approached us and asked who we were and what we were doing there, and do we know that this is the seam zone and out of bounds. We explained who we are and clarified that we are allowed to be here, and have no intention of passing the fence… They began to close the gate (although officially it was supposed to close only at 14:00) and we left.

We continued eastward, and at 13:45 came to Nabi Elias. We stopped for the gates were closed, no entry nor exit by car. We were told this has been the situation for a week, and it is unclear how long it will stay that way. We saw vehicles parked inside the village along the road leading to the exit. People leave their car and continue either on foot, in a taxi or with another vehicle that picks them up.

There were many vehicles on site, some of them loaded with goods, coming from both sides of the closed gates. People and good were passed “back-to-back” on both sides, many wandering around in the seething sun. Some passed under the iron gate, or around it.
Some of the drivers tried the bypassing trails among the trees, but this a very lengthy drive. In order to reach Nablus or anywhere else, they had to drive nearly to the checkpoint area, turn around and then go back toward their destination.
While we were there an elderly man from Jordan arrived. He bore three large suitcases and looked exhausted. Youngsters present helped him pass under the gate.

When we returned to the car, a young man approached and said that there is a problem with one of our wheels and it’s dangerous to keep driving. He said he was a mechanic and could fix the problem. After taking the wheel apart and checking, we found out we needed to change a certain part on both sides. Since we were close to the gate and had no choice, we stayed there and waited for the parts to arrive.
As we waited, an army jeep arrived with two young soldiers. They disembarked and began to yell at children standing by the gate, claiming they saw in their cameras that the children had fiddled around with the gate and tried to open it. One of the soldiers approached the mechanic and swore at him vulgarly for fixing our vehicle in place. The soldiers continued to yell at people, and a driver whose passengers had disembarked near the gate had his reverse camera broken for no apparent reason.
An Israeli vehicle was there with young Israelis from Kfar Sava who wanted to wash their car and were disappointed to find a closed gate. They heard the explanation that driving was possible along the dirt track but it would be pointless since the car would only fill up with dust again. The young man next to the driver was smoking a rolled cannabis cigarette. The soldiers approached the car to find out what it was doing there. The mechanic told us later that the passengers gave the soldier that kind of cigarette and the soldiers offered to follow them so they could open the eastern gate (closed since 7.10.23) for them to enter and exit. We do not know whether this actually took place. They left us alone for the wheel of our car was in pieces when they arrived, and we could obviously not go anywhere until the problem was fixed.
The whole story with our car took a long time, longer than we thought, so we drove directly to Burin to visit our friend Doha. She said they suffer daily from the settlers who walk around among the homes and bother the residents, and are backed up by soldiers.