'Anin, Reihan, Thu 8.11.07, Morning

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Observers: 
Leah R, Raya Z
Nov-8-2007
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Morning

06:00 - 07:15 Aanin Checkpoint
Open, light rain, people tell us that there are many waiting at the lower gate, standing in the rain. The soldiers are nice this time, for a change. Among the ordinary requests to us for help in getting permits, they tell us the following story: A. married to a Jordanian woman, has four children, the youngest is six.; he hasn’t seen his wife or children for five years. They do not have a permit to come and visit him in Aanin. Recently, among the gestures, they got a permit for family reunification and Palestinian IDs, but to get the green ID the wife must come to the Territories – and they will not let her in.
P. passes with tractor: even though he got a permit in advance from the DCO to transfer a few gallonbs of oil, the check takes a long time.

07:30 - 09:00 Reihan (Bartaa) Checkpoint

In the lower (Palestinian) parking lot, we meet a number of women with children and a month old babyinfo-icon, waiting for the taxi from which they descended at the entrance to the terminal. They told us that they were held in the inner rooms, with the children and baby, for a thorough check.
At 08:15 there are nine private cars and taxis waiting on the road. The drivers are angry and claim that they have been waiting since 07:30, after having passed two checkpoints on the way from Jenin, at Arava and Mevo Dotan. According to them, to reach Bartaa by 10:00 they have to leave Jenin at 06:00. Five minutes after I approached them, with pen and notebook in hand, four cars are taken in together for checking. I watched the check (dogs, etc.) which lasted till 08:35. After that, four pick up trucks with agricultural produce were brought in from the parking lot.
At 08:45 the pick ups were moved into the closed checking compound, and four more cars were brought from the road. Meanwhile more cars arrived so that there are now six waiting.
(I think that the check speeded up because I was standing watching with notebook in hand, facing the gate.)
The pick up drivers complain that they are allowed to pass with only 50 cartons of eggs per car, in place of a hundred that used to be. Sharon, from the company that operatres the terminal, says "what, they don’t even transfer 50..."