The northern barriers: you can feel Ramadan in the air

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Observers: 
Rachel W. and Hanna H. Marcia L., Translation
Apr-18-2023
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Afternoon

 

15:00 – 16:30

Barta’a Checkpoint

 

We stand at the upper parking lot at the Seamline Zone (under Israeli control).  Only one transit vehicle leaves for the mosques in Jerusalem for Ramadan prayers, along with people who have permits to work in Israel.

 

Workers begin to return to the West Bank from their jobs in Israel in the Seamline Zone. The number increases around 16:00 but it looks like most of the workers already returned earlier.

 

We met a woman from Nablus who works as a caregiver for an older family in Nazareth.  She leaves for Israel each time for a few days.  Now she is waiting for the driver who will pick her up and in the meantime she chats with us in English, praising the city of Nablus and the Ramadan fast.

 

Around 16:00, a large group of men arrives from the West Bank (who have permits to pass) dressed in white shirts and arrange to travel to mosques in Jerusalem for prayers.  These are the last days of Ramadan and Eid-al Fitr begins on Thursday.

 

Tura Checkpoint

 

About 20 workers return to the West Bank from the Seamline Zone. Cars pass in two directions, most of them to the West Bank. One car that was to leave for the Seamline Zone was turned back and delayed for reasons unknown to us.

 

A resident of Turn turned to us because in September 2022 he was given a police order prohibiting him from crossing to Israel for 6 months, and he still hasn’t been able to cancel the prohibition.  We gave him the phone numbers of Sylvia’s staff for help in submitting forms for canceling the prohibition.