Tayasir, Sun 13.2.11, Afternoon

Translation: Bracha

Hamra Checkpoint 13:45

There is a line of cars waiting to enter Israel.  People get out of their cars to be checked, and the car and driver meet again at the other side of the checkpoint. People coming out of the inspection facility told us that there were people being detained.  We approached the inspection point and asked the checkpoint commander what was the reason for their detainment. The commander explained that a person had an ID card that did not match the other documents, and that the police were coming to release them.  The commander, a lieutenant from the Engineering Corps, was extremely polite.   

Guchia Checkpoint 15:00

An army jeep arrived at precisely 15:00, and we waited until 15:30.  No one came and we left.

Tayasir Checkpoint 15:50

We arrived at the checkpoint, stayed in the car and watched from a distance.  A few cars arrived from both directions.  The commander approached us and invited us to observe the inspection procedures from up close.  He introduced himself as Lt. Shmulik from Battalion A of the Engineering Corps.  It's been a while since we were treated so politely at the checkpoints.   There is very little traffic.  The commander explained to us that there is a lot of traffic between 04:00 and 06:00 in the morning and only a few cars in the afternoon.

At 17:00 we went back to Hamra and found that the detainees had been released several hours ago.  We encountered two soldiers on leave who were not in uniform and one was armed.  They claimed that they had gotten there by accident and were detained for questioning. 
On our way back we passed through the Maaleh Ephraim Checkpoint and saw that it was operating on the southern side.