Barta'a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked, Ya'bed-Dotan

Share:
Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Email
Observers: 
Rachel V, Ruti K (reporting)
Mar-15-2015
|
Afternoon

The North Sunday 15.3.2015 pm

Observers : 

15.30  Tura Shaked Checkpoint

Pastoral silence. Everything around us was green and in bloom . . . .

The head of the village of Tura came out of the checkpoint on a tractor.  He stopped near us and told us that he wanted to bring sacks of fertilizer to his tobacco field, and apparently he needed a special permit for transporting fertilizer.  This is the sowing and planting season and every day is important.  He had contacted the civil administrationinfo-icon office and was told to make a list of the things he needed.  He was about to contact the Center for the Individual’s Rights in Jerusalem in order to obtain the permit.  If the problem remained unsolved, we suggested he should contact one of our colleagues, who would come to the checkpoint.  Also, the village head complained that crossing-permits have been confiscated from several Palestinians.  They were told to go to the Civil Administration office.  They arrived there, waited for hours and were not allowed in.

 

15.30  Ya’abed-Dotan Checkpoint

Here too the surroundings were quiet.  Cars passed through without being searched.  The soldiers could be seen in the watch-tower.

On the way to the Barta’a checkpoint we saw a “flying” (ie surprise) checkpoint, where soldiers were searchung cars.

 

16.15  Barta’a Reihan Checkpoint

There was a rush of workers through the “sleeveinfo-icon” (i.e. enclosed corridor) and through the terminal.  Two queues formed next to the examination machines; one of the machines wasn’t working.  As usual, we were told from inside the checkpoint that it was being dealt with.

One of the workers passed us and exclaimed, “I loathe these checkpoints!”  There is no better way of describing the situation.

 

By the time we left the queue has shortened quite a lot.