Northern Check Points : Creeping annexation, flags, and Ramadan
On the roads in the Seamline Zone, and also in the West Bank, flags of the local council of Shomron and of Israel, wave. The atmosphere reflects our Independence Day. The crawling annexation advances the length of the roads in the Seamline Zone; electrical cables were laid and the bases for lamp posts were prepared.
16:15 – Ya’bed-Dotan Checkpoint
The checkpoint is not manned and, on the Jenin-Tulkarm road, there is alert traffic in both directions. The areas on both sides of the road have been sown lately and now they are covered with plastic sheeting for protection.
16:40 – Barta’a-Reihan Checkpoint
The large parking lot and the road next to it is relatively empty. Obviously, because of the start of Ramadan, the workers return home early. The preparations for Ramadan are also considerable at the kiosk; food concessions are covered with rolls of cloth. A resident of East Barta’a who is returning from Jenin with food items for a few days, tells us that he was delayed at the terminal for 40 minutes for a detailed inspection of his goods. He tells us that until recently, he worked at the university in Nicosia, Cypress, but the conditions were terrible there and he had to return.
In the upper parking lot workers arrive from Barta’a, Harish, and from Israel, and go down to the terminal via the sleeve (the enclosed passage to the terminal). Some of the people carry very large backpacks; perhaps they are workers who stay in their place of work and are returning home for the period of Ramadan. In a conversation with us, they all complain about the long sleeve (whose length has lately doubled) that they must use from the parking lot to the terminal.