Afternoon

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Dec-26-2002
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When I got to Abu-Dis, Jerrold Kessel of CNN was just being filmed and taped there. To the best of my understanding, it was not about the wall, but it was filmed on the background of the wall, with nimble Palestinians in the background crossing over the wall in the slippery mud.I had not been to Abu-Dis in weeks, and in spite of the accurate descriptions, was not quite prepared for what I saw. The wall is now quite solid, gone are the cracks between the betonades, gone are the plastic barriers, and the lower betonades -- it is a solid, continuous stretch of cement barriers, at least 2 meters high, with barbed wire here and there, creeping up the street beyond Al Quds. There were no soldiers, no checks, no detaineesinfo-icon -- yet very little traffic, too. More people now cross the wall on its north side, close to the gas station, than on its south side, close to the mosque. At least on the north side there aresome makeshift steps to help the crossing. The gate to the mosque has been locked. There was an army jeep on either side of the wall, but they did not stay long, and they were not stopping the crossings.