Palestinians pass between fences and gates at an Israeli army checkpoint near Kibbutz Eyal as they cross from the West Bank town of Qalqilya to work in Israel early on June 14, 2009.

De bezettingsmacht telt calorieën van Palestijnse arbeiders: heb je ‘teveel’ bij je, dan mag je er niet door. Ha’aretz bericht:

The checkpoint, Sha’ar Efraim, is south of Tul Karm, and is managed for the Defense Ministry by the private security company Modi’in Ezrahi. The company stops Palestinian workers from passing through the checkpoint with the following items: Large bottles of frozen water, large bottles of soft drinks, home-cooked food, coffee, tea and the spice zaatar. The security company also dictates the quantity of items allowed: Five pitas, one container of hummus and canned tuna, one small bottle or can of beverage, one or two slices of cheese, a few spoonfuls of sugar, and 5 to 10 olives. Workers are also not allowed to carry cooking utensils and work tools.

MachsomWatch told Haaretz that Sunday, a 32-year-old construction worker from Tul Karm, who is employed in Hadera, was not allowed to carry his lunch bag through the checkpoint. The bag contained six pitas, 2 cans of cream cheese, one kilogram of sugar in a plastic bag, and a salad, also in a plastic bag.

The typical Palestinian laborer in Israel has a 12-hour workday, including travel time and checkpoint delays. Many leave home as early as 2 A.M. in order to wait in line at the checkpoint; tardiness to work often results in immediate dismissal. Workers return home around 5 P.M. The wait at the checkpoint can take one to two hours in each direction, if not longer.

The food quantities allowed by Modi’in Ezrahi do not meet the daily dietary needs of the workers, and they prefer not to buy food at the considerably more expensive Israeli stores. (lees verder)

Palestinian women hide their faces from a tear bomb lobbed by Israeli soldiers as they queue to cross the Hawara checkpoint at the entrance of the Israeli occupied northern Palestinian West Bank city of Nablus on October 22 2008.

An Israeli soldier stands guard as an elderly Palestinian Muslim woman holds up her identity card to cross the West Bank checkpoint of Kalandia, on the outskirts of Ramallah, on September 26, 2008, on her way to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque for the last Friday prayer of the holy month of Ramadan.

Het “kleine, kwetsbare Israël”