Barta'a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked, Ya'bed-Dotan
14:40 –Barta’a Checkpoint
We drove past and all the parking lots were crowded and full.
14:50 – Yaabed – Dotan Checkpoint
On our way to the checkpoint we noticed a car driving towards the shortcut to Yaabed. The yellow gate at the checkpoint was open. In the middle of the checkpoint, next to the pillbox, there were a police vehicle and a gray-haired policeman with a soldier guarding him. They were “dealing” with a driver going from Area C to Area A. There were long pipes on the roof of his car wrapped with blue tape, but he didn't have the red warning triangle required when carrying long cargo. The driver’s father, who had arrived from the direction of Jenin, told us afterward that the sign had fallen off on the way. He was warned by the policeman that next time the offense would cost him a fine of NIS 1000. He still did not know how much he would be fined this time. After they left the policeman continued to stop cars randomly. People’s ID cards were checked and we asked whether the regulations at the checkpoints had been changed. We were answered rudely: “Don’t talk to me.” The soldier, who wore a small yarmulke, was sent to photographs us and our car. Another IDF mission completed.
15:20 – Barta’a Reihan Checkpoint, Seamline Zone Side
A lot of workers were arriving from various places and we walked down the sleeve
with them. Opposite the gate, where Israeli cars crossed, we observed a driver who had been asked to pull over and stand to one side. He was a student from Nazareth who was studying dentistry in Jenin. He forgot his student ID card at home. He soon received a photo of his card on his phone, showed it to the guard, and continued on his way. A driver from one of the settlements shouted at us that we were destroying the country.
The terminal was open and two young women from Barta’a a-Sharkiya returned from the West Bank. When we were going back a young man approached us and showed us a message that he had received on his phone in Hebrew and Arabic about a change in the employment of Palestinian workers beginning today. Yes, we had heard about this and were pleased for him. He is the father of two children and the sum of NIS 2500 that was deducted from his salary each month was a lot of money.
16:00 – Tura – Shaked Checkpoint
The checkpoint was filthy and quiet as usual. A tractor returned to the West Bank and a woman was waiting under the filthy shed.