Hebron, Sansana (Meitar Crossing), South Hebron Hills, Mon 30.7.12, Morning
9:30-13:00
Sansana checkpoint – given the late hour we arrived, there was no traffic at the checkpoint. The number of cars in the parking lot was fewer than usual – perhaps because of Ramadan. August and the heat may also have reduced the number of people crossing. Expansion work is being carried out by a flotilla of trucks.
A new army observation post has been built on the road that leads to Ramadin and Dhahiriya. The soldiers were checking the papers of a Palestinian car – the young bearded driver was sitting on th car and waiting for the soldiers to finish their checking.
The new observation tower . A short film by Naama can be found at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo6vqF6t1oQ&feature=youtu.be
On Road 60 near the village of Kliklis, we saw 3 soldiers who had stopped a Palestinian vehicle. The soldiers explained to us that they stopped the driver at the request of the Israeli police and were waiting for them to arrive. The soldiers were not forthcoming with additional facts so it was left to us to speculate. All in all, their behavior was courteous. We wondered why the army brings the police only for the Palestinians and not against the settlers…..
To our surprise the Palestinian was free do go after a short examination by the police. We also continued on our way.
On the blocked road across from Beni-Naim, we discerned a large number of soldiers from the Border Patrol and several civilian vehicles. It turns out that once again they were taking action against “water theft”.
Mekorot, the water authority, claims that the Palestinians steal water. Ironically, they employ Palestinian youths to pull up the water pipes and put them on trucks – all this accompanied by the police, the army, the border patrol ….. we don’t understand why it was necessary to undertake this action during Ramadan and to have a big command car that is used to transport prisoners waiting on the road. The entire operation was done without the presence of any Palestinians.
A short film by Naama can be found at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKReBiPdVvg&feature=channel&list=UL
Hebron
Because of the heat, the streets were desolate with very little traffic. On the road above Tel Rumeida do we notice a car with Palestinian plates. We were very surprised – what is this car doing in the heart of the apartheid zone? It turns out that if the city of Hebron wants to renovate or repair something in area 2H, they need to coordinate it with the Israeli Civil Authority so what we saw was a work meeting. The planned renovations are for the clinic above the Habad cemetery in Tel Rumeida.
We ended our shift at the carpentry shop of Azam. From there we headed home.