Reihan, Shaked, Wed 30.9.09, Morning

07:10 - Shaked-Tura checkpoint
From the East side of the checkpoint (West Bank) 6 cars were waiting, one tractor and about 20 people.
On the side of the Seam Line zone were 4 cars and the school children who went through swiftly. Passage on both sides went well, although there was an argument among drivers regarding "right of way" in crossing the gate.

A resident of the Seam Line zone told us that yesterday he came to the checkpoint in his car with his wife and his one-year-old daughter, about 5 minutes before 10:00. The checkpoint was open, his wife and the baby went through the inspection cabin, he too went into the inspection booth. By the time he came out the time was 10:00, and his car parked between the fences. A soldier said that he came after 10:00 when the checkpoint is closed for a 2 hours break and had ordered him to return to the West Bank. The driver refused, saying that he arrived before 10:00,and it's not his fault that inspection takes time, and now he is stuck between fences. His wife and child had already gone into the Seam line zone. The soldier insisted on not letting him cross over, they started and argument and the soldier said he was going to call military police. The Palestinian said he was willing to accept the military police verdict. Within 15 minutes the police officer arrived and said that it was the right of the Palestinian to go through for the fact that he arrived while the gate was still open. The soldier continue to deny passage. The commander had arrived, apparently a DCO person, who told the Palestinian to go through, but alas, the permit remained in the soldier's hands and the Palestinian refused to cross over without it. In the end the soldier gave him the permit and he did go through. The entire incident took about half an hour ,during that time the Palestinian felt humiliated and wondered if something was going to be done about  the soldier.

Another individual told us that inside the inspection post there's a sign on the wall, in Arabic, about people of the DCO who would come tomorrow  at 9:30 to the area close to the checkpoint to talk about lots #5,6,64 in bloc #20387. people were afraid that it had to do with another confiscation of land. The DCO reported that all they were going to do is just mark the borders of the lots.

08:30 - We left the checkpoint.

At the vehicles inspection post , drivers of 8 pickup trucks and private cars handed their papers for inspection before going up to the inspection shed. There were no other cars on sight. At 09:30 more cars drove over.
The few pedestrians  walked  through the terminal, most of them business owners in East Barta'a who left their cars at the Palestinian car park area.