Anabta, Eliyahu Crossing, Habla 30.03.11 morning

Translation:  Suzanne O.

Habala

6:50 a.m. 

A new gate for pedestrians on the left side of the roadblock opened at 6:45 a.m. Reserve soldiers are staffing the gate. Pace of crossing is reasonable.

7:00 a.m.

A bus and a minibus with schoolchildren arrive.  They are held up for longer than usual and the children, impatient, alight from the transport.  The soldiers send them back again.  In order to enable the bus to cross they open the main gate.

A resident of Ras Atira and his wife, who has cancer, he is refused.  He asks for help to set his refusal aside.  We took his details.

7:40 a.m.

From above we observe that the Jius gate is closed.  It is not open this morning either.  We tried a few times to get hold of the officer responsible for the crossing, but without success.  3 inhabitants of the village, who had arrived before us in the hope of crossing this morning to get to their land via the local gate, were happy to meet us and told us that children had been throwing stones, not in the area of the gate but above in the village and as a response the gate has been closed.  There is no sabotage at the gate (as Tami Cohen was told a few days ago).  We offered them a lift to Palmia and when we got there we took their details in an attempt to help them because all three are refused by the Shabak, as are many inhabitants of the village.

They also told us that the army often comes into the village at night.  One of them who lives near the fence has problems with this, his children wake in fright at each such visit.

At Falamia there is no queue and only few cross.

We drove through Kafr Jamal and stopped at the grocer's for a chat with the people who made the usual complaints about night visits from the army and confiscation of lands.

Anabta

9:00 a.m. 

The roadblock is empty and we don't see any soldiers.  We met, by previous arrangement, with a young man who was due to sign a power of attorney and to pass his documents to Micky F so that she can deal with his refusal.

We returned via Eliahu Crossing where there was no crowding in contrast to the early morning when the entrance gate is open.