'Anin, Reihan, Shaked, Sun 2.11.08, Morning

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Observers: 
Ruthy T. and Hanna H.
Nov-2-2008
|
Morning
Translation: Devorah K.

A'anin CP - 5.55
The CP opened at 5.30 and when we arrive many workers and women with children are going through to work at olive-picking. On the way to the CP we meet many workers who share their recurring problems with us. One tells us that he is the only one of eight brothers who has a permit for the olive-picking. A second person tells us that his work permit has been taken away because he did not pay a fine for a traffic violation. Another farmer claims that he forgot his food at home, and when his son went out to Umm el Fahm to buy some food he was caught and his work permit was confiscated. In another family the agricultural permit was given only to the relatively old mother and father and was not given to their children. We told all of them to appeal to the head of the DCO at Salem (they did not know his name). But a complaint that was repeated by many is that they are not allowed to take tractors to the groves that are in the wadi. The groves are in the area of the West Bank but the only way to get a tractor to them is through the CP itself. Moreover, between the fences there are also olive trees. Until two years ago they were allowed to pick the olives there, but now they are not allowed to get to the trees. At 6.30 all the workers had gone through and now mostly tractors are going through.

Reihan CP - 6.45
About ten workers are still waiting in the upper parking lot for their rides. They told us that the CP opened at 5.30 and "everything is fine". A taxi with women passengers on their way to the West Bank is inspected for more than ten minutes. Nine pickup trucks with goods are waiting in the Palestinian parking lot. There is very little pedestrian traffic in both directions.

Shaked CP - 7.05
Near the turnstile, there are about thirty people on their way to the seamline zone. Groups of four or five people enter the inspection room and leave it after ten minutes. About twenty people, especially women with children, are going through to the seamline zone without going through the inspection room. Cars and tractors also go through the CP - with the soldiers sending cars through alternating the directions. The inspection of a vehicle takes two minutes. School children go through without any inspection. A teacher arrives at the CP in his car and goes on after ten minutes. A taxi with students on their way to Jenin arrives at the CP at 7.20. The students go through immediately, only their documents are inspected. But the taxi is delayed for more than ten minutes and goes through only after the driver goes into the CP and talks to the soldiers. The teacher also has to get to Jenin and argues with the soldiers, and goes through only at 7.35.  We hope that he will not have many CPs on the way and that he will arrive in time to teach. When we left there were still about twenty people at the turnstile.

Reihan CP - 7.50
Everything is routine - The bus to Jenin is waiting to go through; five pickup trucks with goods are being inspected in the compound and six additional trucks are waiting. Four passenger cars are being inspected in the shed and eight are waiting on the road. We wait for a sick child whose passage through the CP takes fifteen minutes.