Reihan, Shaked, Sun 30.5.10, Morning

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Observers: 
Hanna H., Ruthi T., Reporting
May-30-2010
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Morning

Translation, Bracha B.A.

"The Checkpoint is Good Today" – A strange phrase from a passer-by.

06:00 – Reihan Barta'a Checkpoint
Small trucks with vegetables are visible in the inspection facility and ten other trucks are waiting to be checked.  A., the driver, brings seven workers and they come through the terminal in 13 minutes. At 07:43 five cars drive up to be checked.  Three of which have been waiting since 06:00.  It seems to us that there are fewer people coming through and fewer women are going out to work.

On our way back to the upper parking lot we saw a car with two Israelis coming from the West Bank.  They yelled at us, "Go home and do the laundry.  What do you want, another six million of us to die?"

07:00 – Shaked – Tura Checkpoint
The gatesinfo-icon are open and two herds of goats go through within 4 minutes.  There are 20 people waiting next to the turnstile.  Two women come out first at 07:03.  A taxi drives up with five women and is thoroughly inspected – a soldier lies on his back underneath to check it. Even the old car belonging to the school principal is check underneath.  Small children are waiting next to the concrete blocks for soldiers to check their bags.  The taxi has gone through and the women passengers are waiting near the inspection booth.  One of the people passing through said that he had tried to cross the checkpoint with an air conditioner and was refused, so he tried to drive it through Shaked-Tura.  He came to the inspection booth and found the door closed, so he pressed the buzzer.  For this he was punished and had to wait three hours.

At about 07:30 four people are detained next to the exit from inspection facility.  One is a teacher who comes through the checkpoint every day.  They are accused of being in Israel illegally even though they are coming from the West Bank.  Finally at 08:00 two of them are released after a conversation with the head of the Liaison and Coordination Administration in the field when they found they were permitted to remain in the West Bank overnight.  The rest of the teachers went on their way to school at 07:50 and the teacher was forced to return. Evidently he sometimes returns via Reihan Checkpoint and the computer at Shaked was not updated.  The fourth person remained until matters were clarified.

A farmer who grows tobacco near the checkpoint says that the soldiers make a lot of problems for him when he tried to transport tobacco leaves across.  He was told to go to the Liaison and Coordination Administration officer if it happened again.