'Awarta, 'Azzun 'Atma, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za'tara (Tapuah), Thu 26.5.11, Afternoon
Translation: Hanna K.
14:30 Azzun Atma gate – The workers haven't yet returned from work therefore there is no queue near the gates at the entrance for checking. The soldiers try to remove us from the CP.
14:45 The industrial zone of Ariel – accelerated building of big industrial constructions on the top of the mountain.
15:00Za'tara/Tapuah CP –
A detained minibus. Its 10 passengers, Palestinian young men, stand to the side. A girl dog trainer with her dog check the minibus inside – the dog sniffs between the seats, outside the vehicle, underneath it, the upholstering of the seats is taken out, put on the road, undergoes a check.
The detained Palestinians are policemen who travel from Tulkarem to Jericho. The check lasted a quarter of an hour. The border-policemen try to prevent us from photographing. Tamar shows them the photographing authorization from the IDF spokesman.
A Palestinian driver arrives: he says that the settlers threw stones on his vehicle two days ago: a stone hit the side of the door – one can see the dent. A soldier sends him to complain at the Ariel police station.
There is a heavy traffic of vehicles especially from Ramallah heading for Nablus.
As usual settler notices are displayed flauntingly and without any interference on the CP fence (they now are about the going up to Mitzpe Yossef).
15:25 A commandcar stands ready at Huwwara; North of the usual place (the parking lot opposite Beita)
15:32 Huwwara CP – The soldiers are on the tower.
Near the tower one sees today (for the first time) a high wall of dense concrete sheets around a small container and above those a barbed wire fence. To protect the soldiers? To hide detainees?
Awarta CP –
A yellow iron arm closes it and is locked – there is no possibility of passage. The locals cannot reach the village, only by way of the Huwwara CP. We shall send in a photograph of a direction signpost in English and Arabic which bears witness to a forbidden road for Palestinians, i.e. an apartheid road.
Beit Furic CP – There were no soldiers in the tower.
16:50 Za'tara/Tapuah CP – A few border policemen are under the watch tower in the parking lot. Vehicles are not being checked.