Rihan

Rihan, Thursday, January 6, 2005, PMObserving and reporting: Shula, Mara14:15 - 15:15As we arrived we saw many pedestrians coming and going, with no special delays. Inspection of luggage is still done on the bare ground (as explained to us in the past: "This is what they are used to"). Two of those passing through, an Arab Israeli and his wife, were returning from a visit with his married daughter who lives in the West Bank. A week ago they went into the West Bank with a truckload of electrical appliances for the young bride. The video did not work well and they had to return it to the store in Nahariya. The soldier at the checkpoint said it was "impossible to transfer electrical appliances from the West Bank into Israel." After a long negotiation, the soldier relented and allowed it in, saying, "But this is the very last time."Vehicle inspection was also efficient and with no unnecessary delays. The soldiers in today's shift acted politely. One of the drivers was ordered to go back. Due to the distance we now have to maintain from the inspection post, we were unable to hear the reason for that. The driver is an Arab Israeli, as we assumed from the car's Israeli plates.We left with no "Shalom" and no "See you later" from the soldiers, who acted as though we were invisible.