Hebron, Sansana (Meitar Crossing), South Hebron Hills, Susiya, Mon 2.7.12, Morning

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Observers: 
Shlomit, Yael (reporting)
Jul-2-2012
|
Morning

 

Translator:  Charles K.

 

09:00-12:00 – speaking to people

 

Meitar crossing

  The parking lot on the Israeli side is empty and clean.  All there is on the Palestinian side are parked cars; the laborers have crossed.

 

Highway 60  

Pretty empty.  In some of the fields, people are still gathering the straw after threshing.

 

Hebron. 

Children emerge from their homes carrying all sorts of containers, on their way to bring soup from the mosque.  We tried to accompany three pleasant girls who agreed we join them, but a Border Police sergeant opposite the Cave of the Patriarchs wouldn’t let us continue, claiming that someone entering the casbah could be kidnapped or just disappear among the alleys.  We didn’t insist.

We went up to the Cordova school.  Today is the last day of a summer camp.  We were welcomed; the supervisor, who speaks English, took us inside and introduced us to the children in each classroom.  Many children were crowded into each room, seated in a circle facing teachers who’d been recruited for the camp from throughout the West Bank.  They were preparing a party in the schoolyard; we decided not to wait.

 

Susiyah. 

On our way back we wanted to stop at the summer camp in Susya.  The place was quiet; Palestinian flags had been drawn on the sheeting comprising the walls of the dwellings, along with slogans in English, the remains of the demonstration two weeks earlier.

The camp had ended.  The Haj and some other men lounged on mattresses in the central tent.  Nasser, from B’Tselem, whose broken arm is a souvenir of when he took photographs in some outpost, explained to us in Hebrew that the Civil Administrationinfo-icon is currently discussing their issue, as a preliminary step before going to court.  The attorney representing them is waiting for a response to their petition; meanwhile, they’re waiting, not particularly optimistically.

Shlomit hoped to hire one of the women as a cleaning lady, but it didn’t look promising.  Nasser said he’d ask around and let her know if he found anybody.

 

We parted, feeling helpless against the occupation’s power.