'Anin, Reihan, Shaked, Thu 27.10.11, Morning
Translator: Charles K.
A’anin checkpoint
The checkpoint gates
are open, farmers walk to work, the DCO vehicle arrives. Inspections are conducted at the middle gate, people wait at the lower gate and we can’t see them.
06:10 We hear noise coming from the waiting area. One person crossing says people are arguing about their place on line and the soldiers threaten to close the checkpoint. So for a few minutes - too many – people don’t cross. We go in to ask the soldiers what’s going on; they reply that everything’s ok – what’s important to them is that we leave the checkpoint area.
06:35 One of the people crossing complains that the soldiers are trying to “educate” the people who are waiting. He says that about 80 people are still waiting to cross.
The Bedouin children wait for their transportation. One receives new sneakers from a woman who lives in A’anin. Apparently she’s a relative of his. He’s very happy, and leaves the old sneakers at the checkpoint.
07:00-07:30 Shaked-Tura checkpoint
Little traffic. People appear to be pleased the checkpoint opens at 06:00, and cross early. A teacher from the Umm Reihan school goes through with a package of about ten books. They’ve been translated by a British organization and donated to the school library. The teacher brings them through in small packages to avoid having to “coordinate.”
07:25 The young pupils are driven here; the older ones arrive on foot. This morning no one mentions Saturday’s incident, the funeral and the shooting (cf. reports from October 24, 25 and 26).
07:40-08:20 Reihan checkpoint, seam zone side
Seven trucks emerge from the inspection area and nine (!) enter. Five more trucks wait on the road. Six cars wait at the vehicle checkpoint to cross to the West Bank.
One booth in the terminal is open, which is enough at this hour. Not many cross to the seam zone and few to the West Bank. Four detainees sit on a bench in the terminal.
07:50 Ali, a boy, had a successful bone marrow transplant, donated by his younger brother. Two weeks ago he went home from the hospital and today his mother is taking him to be examined at Rambam hospital. The father brought Ali and his mother to the Palestinian parking lot and thought we’d take them from there, but because I had a problem with my car we came with an Israeli Arab driver. The security guard, the person in charge, and the person in charge of him are very polite and want to help. Our driver isn’t allowed to drive his car to the Palestinian side of the checkpoint. Hundreds of Israeli Arabs go through the Jalameh checkpoint in their cars, but not a single one through the Reihan-Barta’a checkpoint! Finally they found a solution: The senior person in charge permits Ali’s father, a Palestinian resident of the West Bank, to drive through the vehicle checkpoint in his car (!!!) without having to wait on line, and bring Ali and his mother to us.
08:20 The father returns to the Palestinian side and we drive to Rambam.