10-15 persons waiting in line; waiting time c. 5 minutes -- relatively slow for the small number of people entitled to cross at this checkpoint.
Sawaharra
No vehicles crossing today. According to the security guard there is a breakdown in the electrical system and they are unable to open the metal barriers and the two gates which drivers must cross. The turnstile too is not working and people must cross outside the building.
On our way back we notice that on the yellow barrier there are instructions for manual opening. This, it seems, is too hard for the soldiers; easier to send the drivers back.
Shouts are audible from inside the building -- whether this is the sound soldiers' having fun or something more sinister we cannot tell.
Silwan
The neighbourhood is deceptively quiet. Palestinians and settlers are going about their business, as though this were the most ordinary place in the world. There was a manned checkpoint at the entrance to the neighbourhood but no one was prevented from crossing as far as we could see.
