Tulkarm Checkpoints, Tuesday 27.3.07 AMObservers: Ruti C, Elinoar B (reporting) Irtah06:15-06:45  – In addition to the usual complaints about the extra checks in the so-called “rooms” the workers say that except on Sundays the facility opens late, 5 AM or a little later. Anabta 07:15-07:35  –  today we arrive early, a roadblock before the turning to Shavei Shomron prevents Israeli vehicles from  passing due to the events in the evacuated settlement of Homesh.Here the traffic is sparse, no queueing-up and hardly any checks. Jubara& A-Ras07:45-09:00  – The gate to vilage is closed but not locked. We are asked by the checkpoint commander no to open or close it but call the soldiers to do it.At gate 753 an old, crippled, familiar-looking man is denied entrance to the village. Apparently he is a beggar who makes his living by begging here in the village. Eventually the checkpoint commander who stands down at A-Ras allows him to enter.Here the vehicles going into Tulkarm pass freely, but some of the taxis coming out  are checked thoroughly by a dog-trainer and her sniffer-dog. The passengers are told to get out of the taxi, turn their backs to the car ( they don’t, not really)  the dog starts sniffing around: the floor,  up on the upholstery and sniffing the ceiling, the glove-compartment, the trunk and the motor. The trainer asks to see my notes, this is a secret procedure, she claims. This is why the passengers have to turn around. The fact that there are many Palestinians around, that the procedure is far from being sophisticated or unique does not impress her. Obviously I refuse to show her my notes. I tell her I’ve written just what I saw, she can read it on our site.Watching these dogs is an unpleasant sight, the associations are creepy.