'Atara, Tue 20.10.09, Afternoon

From 14:00 till 17:30
OCHA, Atara and Beit El
 
A hot day.  We went to look for new maps at OCHA and were warmly received by Judith H. who inundated us with material and begged us to stay, but we had not even started our shift yet and wanted to reach Atara. The drivers on road 60 north act like it is the Wild West, which it is. We saw an extension of Adam and then new houses in Ofra.
There were no soldiers at the Atara CP and the observation tower was deserted albeit encircled with new shiny coiled barbed wire. There is some construction near the bridge, but it was not clear for what purpose. It was good to see how all cars passed without hindrance. However, all the essentials to reinstate the CP at the drop of a pin are still in place. We went into the village and noted a lot of new construction and even a sidewalk with Ackerstein bricks which runs almost along the entire village. The man in the grocery store said everything was ‘fine' since the soldiers were not there today.
On the way back we entered Beit El and saw the new settlement of Assaf at the entrance road. We parked near the VIP checkpoint and walked closer, but were first told by girl soldiers that we were not allowed to pass, which had not been our intention to being with, but then we were told in no uncertain terms by the male border police that the CP is a closed military zone and that we were not allowed to be near it, because we were disturbing them in their work. All cars passed unhindered, only those in the direction of Ramalla had to wait until signaled to proceed. We went back and read the various instructions and also noted that the big red sign informing Israelis not to enter was run over and flat on the ground. We entered the settlement, which looks an enclosed ghetto with barbed wire all around it. It in fact borders exactly on Ramalla from which it is separated only by tall fences and barbed wire. Even the older parts didn't look attractive and the best part of the settlement is its way out.