Making it harder to farm their land

We arrived at the Agricultural Gate about 6:50 AM there were several farms waiting with their donkeys. The gate is supposed to open at 8:00AM, but it can be opened any time after 6:30AM. When it is opened the occupying soldiers process the farmers that are there then close gate and leave. One woman had arrived at 6 AM and got frustrated and left before they opened the gate.

A lonely farmer heads from the old gate to the new gate in the early morning

This gate, which is only for tractors and donkeys, is connected to the Ephraim check point. The Farun Ag Gate was closed 1 Dec 2015. With that gate it was 15 meters to one farmer's fields, now it is 3 kilometers. The apartheid wall cut Farun farmers off from 4000 dunnum of their farms.

Farmers gather in the early morning waiting for the gate to be opened

About 7:15AM four soldiers arrived to unlock the gate. At 7:28, after 2 people and one donkey had been processed the soldiers stopped the next person and donkey. They spent ½ hour on the radio and consulting among themselves before letting the second donkey through. They rejected one donkey and driver and about 6 workers were rejected (they may have been sent through the Ephraim gate). Five donkeys and 6 people were allowed to go to work.  Some days the soldiers don't even come.

7:36 the occupying soldiers locked the gate, checked it for security and walked back to the base.

The workers return to the gate in the afternoon. The gates is supposed to be opened to let them back through the wall at 4PM  

A donkey waiting at the gate

Curiously closing the Ag Gate and making the farmers go much farther to get to their fields also takes more time for the soldiers. The gate is now much farther from the base suggesting that the only reason for doing it is ti harass the farmers.