J’s weekend
J went home to Jenin to see her parents for the weekend. I asked her how it was – “Not bad, but a bit stressful coming back.”
J left Jenin at 3.30 am to return to Ramallah. It was a dark and very wet night. The Service she was traveling in came across a number of IDF jeeps on the road – an unmarked checkpoint. The driver of the Service did not understand the instructions he received in Hebrew from the soldiers and they were suddenly surrounded by soldiers screaming and pointing their machine guns into the taxi. They were detained at the checkpoint for about 15 minutes as all their ID’s were taken and the numbers checked in the computer to see if anybody was wanted. Luckily they were not asked for their permits – strictly speaking if a Palestinian wishes to travel between any West Bank town they need their ID card plus a specific permit for the trip. Most try their luck and don’t bother with the permit but risk heavy penalties if the soldiers decide to check.
Once allowed to proceed the Service took a detour across a field in order to avoid further checkpoints and the possibility that they would be asked for permits. If caught taking a short cut the driver risked being beaten up and the passengers risked being taken to the nearest settlement for interrogation. Half way across the field the Service got stuck in the mud. Somebody then saw headlights and fearing an IDF jeep they turned the lights off and remained silent and stressed. About 20 minutes later all was clear and they managed to get going again arriving back in Ramallah at 5.20 am.
This is an everyday occurrence under occupation in the West Bank. Apart from that, J had a good weekend.
J went home to Jenin to see her parents for the weekend. I asked her how it was – “Not bad, but a bit stressful coming back.”
J left Jenin at 3.30 am to return to Ramallah. It was a dark and very wet night. The Service she was traveling in came across a number of IDF jeeps on the road – an unmarked checkpoint. The driver of the Service did not understand the instructions he received in Hebrew from the soldiers and they were suddenly surrounded by soldiers screaming and pointing their machine guns into the taxi. They were detained at the checkpoint for about 15 minutes as all their ID’s were taken and the numbers checked in the computer to see if anybody was wanted. Luckily they were not asked for their permits – strictly speaking if a Palestinian wishes to travel between any West Bank town they need their ID card plus a specific permit for the trip. Most try their luck and don’t bother with the permit but risk heavy penalties if the soldiers decide to check.
Once allowed to proceed the Service took a detour across a field in order to avoid further checkpoints and the possibility that they would be asked for permits. If caught taking a short cut the driver risked being beaten up and the passengers risked being taken to the nearest settlement for interrogation. Half way across the field the Service got stuck in the mud. Somebody then saw headlights and fearing an IDF jeep they turned the lights off and remained silent and stressed. About 20 minutes later all was clear and they managed to get going again arriving back in Ramallah at 5.20 am.
This is an everyday occurrence under occupation in the West Bank. Apart from that, J had a good weekend.
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