31.   The checkpoint has been controversial for years.

32.   The checkpoint is near the Palestinian village of Ein Ariq and a Jewish settlement.

33.   The checkpoint is an economic straitjacket.

34.   The checkpoint is just outside the tiny border town of Sasabe.

35.   The checkpoint was still there, though for the time unarmed.

36.   The Kalandia checkpoint is already a source of deep Palestinian frustration and recently seems to have become more permanent with the addition of various concrete blocks to channel traffic.

37.   The last Northern Alliance checkpoint is a few miles back up the road, where troops warn travelers that it is too dangerous to venture any farther.

38.   The nearest security checkpoint was unmanned, with metal gates covering the front of the metal detectors.

39.   The officers set up a sign just before a highway exit that warns a drug checkpoint is ahead.

40.   The security checkpoints are often slow, as screeners check IDs and tickets and confiscate once-common travel items such as sewing kits and nail files.