'Anin, Reihan, Shaked, Thu 17.2.11, Afternoon
Translation: Bracha B.A.
14:45 – A'anin Checkpoint
Both we and the soldiers arrived at the checkpoint early. Ten people and three tractors are waiting to cross.
A tractor driver tells us that he has land adjacent to the fence on the Western side and has not been allowed to bring a bulldozer to pave an entry road and work the land. His appeals to the Liaison and Coordination Administration have not helped.
At 14:55 the gates
open, the soldiers turn on their laptop, and people begin to cross to their homes. Another tractor arrives pulling a cart with three passengers – one of them is the thirteen-and-a-half-year-old son of the driver. He explains that the youth was only allowed through in the morning after a phone call to the Liaison and Coordination Administration. At 15:20 everyone had crossed and we did not wait for the gates to close at 15:30.
15:30 – Shaked-Tura Checkpoint
An orderly herd of goats passes through to the West Bank while its owner is checked in the inspection booth. A few cars arrive from both directions and people get out to be checked. The checks conducted on people going to the west Bank are no less stringent than those going to the seamline zone. A two-year-old waits alone in the car while his father is checked.
16:00 – Reihan-Barta'a Checkpoint
A group of seamstresses and a group of orange pickers descend the sleeve together with us, carrying bags of oranges. To our surprise there are already two windows open in the terminal and there is no line. Even when there are people coming from the other direction from the West Bank to the seamline zone, the workers are only briefly delayed. People arrive at the entrance to the terminal and are amazed that it is Thursday afternoon and a busy time of day but there is no line. They are able to go in immediately without waiting.
16:45 – Two detainees are waiting on the bench inside the terminal.
We left. The occupation continues, the fence has not been moved beyond the Green Line, but at least people coming home after a long day’s work are not forced to wait in line – a luxury for these poor people.