Hamra, Tayasir, Wed 4.5.11, Afternoon

1300-1550

For various reasons, it has been three months since we were last in the Valley. We can see a great change in terms of how dry it is. The ruling color in most of the flora is yellow. It is hot in the Valley. Soldiers are walking around immediately after Bardeleh. There is a tank and military vehicles and a lot of arms.

1320 Hamra CP
The passage of cars is quick in both directions. Some of those coming from the west (West Bank) are inspected more carefully – documents, opening the vehicle doors, questioning, but everything is done quickly.

Workers are returning with bunches of flowers, get out of the cars and go through the CP on foot with no delay.

Those going through on the eastern side also do it quickly. The men are buckling their belts.

The soldiers are not paying any attention to us.

On the way back we met two young women and we gave them a bag with toys and clothing for the children.

1425 Tyasir CP
Six passenger cars driving westward in the direction of Tyasir, are waiting with doors wide open. We can see that they have been waiting for a long time. In talking to the drivers we discovered that they have been waiting for more than half an hour.

We had barely managed to park and the CP commander approached us and notified us angrily that we have to leave because when we arrived he closed the CP in both directions. "There was a long queue and it was your fault." We stood at a great distance from the CP but he did not want to hear a single word and nothing could make a difference. We decided to stay there a while in order to see how things proceed. We tried to ring the DCO in Jericho. We did not succeed in making the connection.

Three soldiers who came out of the base approached us and saw the sign with the slogan 'No CPs'. One of them asked, 'and what about the Fogel Family?'. After that, he was very eager to talk. We were glad of the opportunity to have a conversation, but the CP commander again arrived and very belligerently forbade it. The quarrel  turned into shouting, to the point of threats (both of them had the same rank- sergeants). This was a conflict of ego and they walked away from us but continued quarreling.

After a quarter of an hour, the CP opened and the soldiers began to let all the vehicles that had assembled go through. We left when we saw that after all most of the cars did go through.

1550 'Bezeq' CP

A security guard asks: where are you coming from?
From the CPs
Which?
Tyasir and Hamrah
What did you do there?
We observed.
Then open the baggage compartment, he says and inspects our car very thoroughly to see if we have smuggled anything. He asks another few questions in order to understand who we are, what is happening to us, and only after he finishes the whole list of questions, does he open the CP for us.

We came back with a heavy aching feeling.