'Azzun 'Atma, Thu 4.3.10, Afternoon

We drove to the northern checkpoint of
Azzun Atma on a completely new road to us. Forgotten villages. Our
hearts go out to the children playing there in nature. Our dear
driver turned from road 55 to the village of Azzun and went on to
Tulta, Siniriah, a winding road until we came to the northern
checkpoint of Azzun Atma

16.15 At the northern checkpoint….no
one waiting. A native of the area told us that in the last week there
had been no checking of those passing through the checkpoint. The
pressure is not at the southern checkpoint. A reserve soldier stands
at the checkpoint with a military policeman and they do said there
had been no checking. The northern checkpoint is open 24 hours a day
and the southern until 23,00.

As a result of the law allowing Israeli
residents to pass to areas over the seamline we were able to pass the
northern checkpoint with our car through the village of Azzun Atma to
the southern area. 

16.40 The southern checkpoint at the
exit from Israel 10s of workers returning from work stand in long
lines waiting to be checked. Only a military policewoman is manning
the sealed room and sending people through so slowly that it is
maddening.

A jeep arrives with a captain who says
that the soldiers at the checkpoint are new and he tries to help but
the lines remain very long. More and more workers arrive. We turned
to the Army Humanitarian Centre to J. and to the DCO at Tulkarm. N. promised
to try to find out what was happening. But during the time that we
remained at the checkpoint nothing seemed to change very much.