Falamiya, Habla

Falamya North CP and Habla CP ,

There are complaints about the gate being opened for half an hour only and even then, when the soldiers do not see, people shut the gate even earlier, and whoever arrives then cannot pass. Repeated complaints about abusive behavior at the Habla CP, in spite of the fact that the head of the DCO said that he would tackle the problem.

12.45 – Falamya North 914 CP – Until the CP was opened we listened to the complaints of the people who were waiting, about the brevity of the opening time of the CP, about the fact that the gate is often shut ahead of time, and about the attitude of a certain military policeman.

The gate is opened on time and many vehicles coming from the fields and carrying fresh dried and chopped zatar, pass with loads of sacks, heaped on tractors and pickup carts.    In front of the gate a cart with new irrigation piping is waiting. In the morning they didn't let it pass and the farmer left it here. But now he brought a tractor and the passage was made possible. We were unable to understand what had changed since the morning but what was sure that damage was caused to the farmer who couldn't use these pipes earlier and was forced to leave them near the gate. A person who advanced to the CP before a sign was give to him to proceed, was sent back. He passed eventually after he was harassed, made to wait, after his papers were checked and returned to him and then checked again, and then he was finally let through, after many others had passed. The feeling was that the behavior was that of a beggar on horseback.

Near the gate there is a building for a water pump. The building is beautiful and ornamented and the pump is electric. We were told that the cost of its one hour activation is about 60-70 IS as compared with the pump which works on diesel oil, which is about 140 IS per hour; all this before considering the reduced ecological damage. So why is this not allowed in Habla – is it because Habla is situated in the C zone while Falamya is in the B zone? The army and state God holds the answer to that. The gate was closed on time at 13:15 and we hurry to Habla.

13.45 Habla CP no. 1393 – The children's bus passes in the direction of Arb Ramadin. Women from Arb Ramadin pass on foot and are now waiting for a car of an acquaintance, which will also pass and take them home.  The place is quiet and from time to time cars arrive and pass in both direction.

They begin to close when a person from the plant nurseries arrives. He has papers to pass on to somebody who is supposed to arrive from Habla. The soldiers wait and enable him to stand near the closed gate and to pass the papers to his friends from Habla, and then the gates are finally closed completely.