Barta'a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked
05:55 Barta'a Reihan Checkpoint
Many people already passed from the West Bank to the Seam Zone and now they are waiting for a ride to work. We go down to the terminal through the sleeve, in front of us many men, a lot of young people, are coming out, rushing, greeting with a smile, but it turns out there are a lot of problems. Yesterday and today many workers were not allowed to pass. The magnetic card wasn’t working although the permits were valid. A young man tells us that he went back to Tulkarm and passed there, they said there the card was fine. When he came back today to Barta'a the magnet again was not working. They said they’ll renew it in March. I don’t know who to talk to, the DCL doesn’t respond. I called later, there is no officer, no one to talk to, they said to call tomorrow.
06:50 Tura-Shaked Checkpoint
The checkpoint opened in the appointed time 06:30, a wonder! Yesterday it opened at 7:30. A pregnant woman is passing, she tries to sit in the shed but all the benches are broken. The passage is rapid; the younger children are starting to arrive on their way to kindergarten and school. A person approaches us, saying he has a laborer he came to pick up but was told to come back at 8:00 and then his worker would pass. The employer didn’t want to interfere for fear of the soldiers’ reaction. At Barta'a’s too, an employer told us he was told to come back at 9:00.
07:30 we leave.