ריחן, שקד, שבת 28.7.12, בוקר
07:00 Shaked-Tura checkpoint
We're in the midst of the Holiday of Ramadan. We're told that the pedestrians' gate, from the direction of the Seam Line zone, is open until midnight; the right to cross is given to residents of the Seam Line zone only.
Residents of the West Bank require special permits if they wish to visit relatives in the evening.
Upon our arrival at 07:00 the checkpoint is already open. One of the laborers said:"Today they’ve worked well".
A soldier comes over and offers us a bottle of water. All appears proper.
7:25 – We leave.
7:40 – Mevoh Dotan checkpoint
The site is manned. Cars stop, drivers wait for a signal, approach the soldiers, and proceed.
We talk with curly-sideburned soldiers (one of them is from Itamar) and with another from Beit Zarzeer (a Bedouin village in the North) who declared that they are getting along nicely.
8:00 – Reihan/Barta'a
The car park is not yet filled up; the Kiosk is closed due to Ramadan.
At the car park there is a truck loaded with cardboard boxes with an inscription that declares their contents to be frozen meat from Brazil. This is not a cooling truck and it is parked in the open sun.
We move to the other side of the gate, where traffic is slow and our cars' trunk is inspected.
8:25 – We leave