Barta'a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked, Ya'bed-Dotan
15:20 – Tura – Shaked Checkpoint
About twenty women were sitting on the bench under the shed. New planks have been placed on the metal frame – evidently do-it-yourself work by the Palestinians. About twenty men and a few children were waiting for the bus to Jerusalem to visit Al Aksa Mosque, visit, eat when iftar – the breaking of the fast in the evening, and then go to pray at night. They planned to return about 02:00 in the morning and pass through the vehicle checkpoint at Barta'a. The bus was late, perhaps because of a flat tire and perhaps it was stuck in traffic. Meanwhile people were using the time to complain about work permits and agricultural permits that have been revoked. Some of them are members of the huge Kaha Family who have been collectively punished because of the terrorist attack carried out by a member of the family. They claimed that the permits were revoked before the attack that took place on the road to the Yaabed Checkpoint. They explained that they were forbidden to enter Israel by the army and not be the Special Security Forces. We gave them Sylvia's phone number as well as the number of the hotline for individual understanding and wished them luck and Ramadan Kareem.
16:00 – Yaabed – Dotan Checkpoint
On the way we saw tobacco fields in flower, while in others leaves were already hanging up to dry. An army jeep was parked on the top of one of the hills at the feet of one of the pillboxes but the checkpoint itself was not manned.
16:20 – Reihan – Barta'a Checkpoint, Palestinian Side
A lot of people were coming home from work at this time of day. Taxi drivers were shouting: "Nenin, Jenin" and the taxis were filling up. A few people were going the other way from the West Bank to the seamline zone. Here, too, a lot of people were complaining about being banned from entering Israel. The new shed is not yet operating. They were pouring a concrete floor that will evidently link the old area to the new one. On our way to the car we saw someone selling cakes from the trunk of his car. In a few hours they would sweeten the breaking of the day's fast.
17:00 – On our way home we stopped at a minimarket at Um-A-Reihan, and I wondered how it was they were selling food when people are fasting. The same holds true for the kiosk at the Reihan – Barta'a Checkpoint.