Reihan, Shaked, Sat 7.3.09, Morning
Translation: Devorah K.
7:30 - 8:00 Shaked-Tura CP
There is a lot of traffic in the CP: Waiting near the turnstile in order to go through from the West Bank to the seamline zone are about 20 people, two herds of goats, a donkey and a number of vehicles. It seems that the passage is slow. One of the people driving who has gone through gives us a message from the owner of the herds: "Every day he goes through with a herd, and waits about two hours until they let him through. Why?" We asked a soldier in the CP and he answered courteously that the passage of the herd is being clarified. And indeed, within a few minutes the two herds and the donkey did go through. The cars go through quickly, but the people are delayed for a long time.One of those going through tells us that "Inside there are two people who keep chattering all the time and talking about all kinds of nonsensical things, and they don't care about our time." In the end, after the half hour that we were at the CP, all of them go through. It seems, however, that the wait time of some of the people was a whole hour.
8:10 - 9:25 Reihan-Barta'a CP
Here too, there is a lot of traffic. On the slope leading down the sleeve to the entrance to the terminal we meet many people going in both directions. From the entrance we hear many voices inside. After ten minutes, they open another window and after another ten minutes, a third window is opened. Those coming out tell us that inside there are very many people. Apparently they opened today only at 7:30 instead of at 7:00 and as a result there is a lot of pressure. At the entrance to the terminal there are signs that are new (to us): "No Smoking - Fine of NIS 1000," "Using a Telephone during the Passage is Forbidden", "Taking Pictures is Forbidden", and more.
in the meantime, the pressure has eased somewhat and now it takes ten minutes to go through all together. In the parking lot on the side of the West Bank a large group of men are waiting for the ambulance that is bringing a boy who died in Rambam. We express our sympathy. The ambulance arrives quickly and the group in tears leaves with it. In the vehicle inspection shed, six vehicles are being inspected at the same time, within fifteen minutes -- record time. The queue of cars waiting for inspection is short. In the parking lot on the side of the West Bank, a man asks for our help: He has been 'forbidden' (apparently an illegal sojourner in Israel) for a long time, and cannot get a permit to go through. Considering all our recent failures to help in this matter, we told him that at the moment there is nothing we as individuals can do, but that as a collective we have now appealed in regard to the entire matter of the permits.