'Anin, Barta'a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked, Ya'bed-Dotan

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Observers: 
Zafrira Zamir, Neta Golan (reporting). Translation: Bracha Ben-Avraham
Nov-11-2020
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Afternoon

14:40 – We arranged to meet M., our friend from A’anin, near the junction next to A’anin, to give him the parcels of used clothing that we had brought. M. was waiting with his son and their tractor. Three small children were sitting on sacks of olives by the road, watching over their family’s belongings.

14:55 – We drove past Barta’a Checkpoint. The parking lots and the sides of the road were filled with cars, and there were 7 small trucks waiting to be checked in the lot by the vehicle checkpoint. We continued driving to Yaabed Dotan Checkpoint and stopped at our friend F.’s grocery store in Emricha. The store is being improved and there is an oven at the entrance. We bought Crembos (a cream-filled chocolate snack) for 1 Shekel. F. was watching a Saudi program on television, in which people were circling the Kaba’a in Mecca seven times. F. has not yet made a pilgrimage to Mecca, but her parents and brother had.

15:10 – Yaabed – Dotan Checkpoint

To our surprise, the checkpoint was manned. Soldiers were standing by the road but were not stopping the cars. There was a lot of traffic in both directions but the concrete barriers on the road only allowed cars to go in one direction at a time. Cars waited in line for several minutes while traffic moved one way and then in the other direction.

15:20 - Barta’a Checkpoint

We did not enter the crowded parking lot because of COVID-19. We saw the seamstresses getting into their transport vehicle. The trucks were no longer in the parking lot; they had been driven in to be checked. Just as we drove into the vehicle checkpoint for the Seamline Zone two cars came out after being checked.

15:30 – Tura – Shaked Checkpoint

There was no traffic. An older man came up to us and asked how we were doing. He said that there was no COVID-19 and that it was an invention by Trump.

15:45 – A’anin Checkpoint

The checkpoint opened 55 minutes late.

About 10 people, four children, and three tractors loaded with sacks of olives were waiting to return home. The soldiers did not arrive on time. One person arrived and crossed through a gap in the fence without waiting for the soldiers to arrive.

At 16:00 I called the District Coordination and Liaison Office. A woman soldier told me she would call the regiment and find out what was going on. When I called again she said that the soldiers were on their way and that there had been incidents along the separation barrier. People were getting tired of waiting. At 16:20 I called again but there was no answer. I called again at 16:30, for the fourth time. The woman answered me immediately and asked what I wanted this time. When I told her the soldiers had not arrived, to my surprise she transferred me to the regiment. Another woman soldier reported that the soldiers were on their way. We didn’t know how long this would take, so we left and asked M. to call us when the soldiers arrived.

At 16:40 M. called and reported that the soldiers had finally arrived.