'Anin, Reihan, Shaked, Thu 10.12.09, Morning
A'anin CP
06.25 - Soldiers are inspectingA'anin residents going out to the seamline zone in the center of the CP. We hear an argument between a woman holding a child and the soldiers. In the end, the woman and the child return to the village. According to Abbas (the DCO representative), the woman and the child have a permit, but her husband's permit is invalid and she does not want to go to the seamline zone without him. A farmer on a tractor (see photo) complains to M. W.: "They are not renewing permits for farmers and that is a difficult problem." Another tractor is transporting olive seedlings for renewing a grove. "Did you any clothes?" the people who are leaving ask us, meaning donations of used clothing.
Shaked CP
The lock on the CP gate causes problems. The DCO rep, Abbas, arrives from A'anin, and behold the gate opens. At seven o'clock, instead of beginning to let the people through, there is an HAS simulation (Hostile Activity of Sabotage) in the area of the CP and the soldiers run back and forth with their rifles at the ready, yelling FIRE, FIRE, FIRE. The CP is halted --- life stops. The little girls (pupils) giggle.
Ten Palestinian minutes are wasted. On both sides of the CP, the queue gets longer. Some people want to get out of the West Bank to go to work and others want to enter the West Bank to go to school. The teacher with the old Fiat gets out of his car and calls out to Abbas from the DCO (see photo): "Abbas, well- what's going on? (we are late for) school!" He points to the clock. Workers complain: "an hour of work (in the Shahak industrial zone) - 15 TO 20 NIS- every delay is a serious loss."
07:15: The first to go through - the pupils and the teachers. Today, they inspect all the schoolbags of the little children very carefully. No bomb was found. Afterwards the workers from the West Bank go through. In the meantime, cars go through. The residents complain about the new soldiers, who open the CP late and act rudely.
Reihan CP
07:20 - Since the Holiday of the Sacrifice ('Eid-el-Adha), the road between Jenin and the CP is o p e n! There are no CPs! People tell us - some happily (because now they reach the CP quickly), and some sadly (taxi drivers whose livelihood has been cut again) - "Today it is possible to travel from Jenin straight to Tulkarm. Apparently also to Hebron."