The northern checkpoints: two days before the earthquake in the south
15:00 -16:30
Barta’a Checkpoint
At the entrance to the checkpoint on the Seamline Zone side, a Haifa fisherman sells fish to workers and to seamstresses. Many laborers who work in Israel and the Seamline Zone, return to the West Bank and go down the long sleeve
( the enclosed, roofed passage to and from the terminal). Most of them carry packages of goods they bought, aside from the lunch boxes they carry in their hands. Opposite them, residents of the Seamline Zone, go up the sleeve. They return with baskets of goods from the West Bank. Tens of waiters in black pants and white shirts, leave for weddings arranged in Israel. Parking lots on the hills of Area C, are filled with Palestinian cars.
Apparently, this is the usual “routine” that goes on in quiet within the long sleeve, along with the background squeaking of the turnstile. But in mornings, they tell us, there is crowding at the entrance to the checkpoint, and the crossing continues for between a half an hour to an hour. The contractor doesn’t always wait for those who are late and the worker loses a day’s pay. This week there is no apparent serious problem because of Sukkot. Many workplaces in Israel are closed and many workers do not come for work. Achieving a permit to work in Israel is still difficult. One of the workers tells us about his son, age 22, who cannot get a permit to pass through to Israel, apparently because he is not married.
Tura Checkpoint
A group of young people from Umm Reihan, who finished a year of study in Ya’bed, return from enjoying a day in Jenin.
About ten cars, some filled with families from the Seamline Zone, pass through to the West Bank. Four cars cross to the Seamline Zone, a fast crossing.