Afternoon

Uncanny miracles were happening that morning, between 8.30a.m. and 10a.m. The whole checkpoint area and surroundings were 'scrubbed'. A soldier driving a cleaning truck, which swoops dirt was seen, garbage trucks came, loaded, and left. One would almost believe that the occupation and its brutal disregard and neglect of the Palestinians' well being was undergoing a sea change. At 10:00, the whole area was shut off. No taxis were allowed, the area was sealed off for Palestinians, movement stopped, and the checkpoint closed. Mofaz came for two minutes. After he left, dirt, disdain and neglect can 'normally' pile up and accumulate again covering Palestinian life like a shroud.Qalandya South, 4p.m.Everyone allowed through. A soldier sprawled out in the booth with his elevated leg resting loosely in front of him, hardly paid any attention to the IDs dutifully raised towards him.From afar, we saw a row of 9 white impounded transits (with Israeli plates) in the airport.Qalandya North, 4.10p.m.There were many pedestrians and many soldiers. We went down to speak to the transit drivers hoping they would unveil the mystery of the transit scene. We saw that some peddlers have returned to display their merchandize (ducklings and glass cups) where formerly this was not allowed (a mandatory law had been recruited to forbid 'peddling by the road'). We went to see the wall we understood was being built. To the left behind the airport, one could see a bulldozer straightening the terrain for the explicit purpose of erecting the wall there. We went to the right, following the tora-bora (quarry's) circumventing part , wallowing through piles of mud, climbing quite steep piles of dirt and stones. We met some people on the way who had been turned back at the checkpoint. One, a young girl working in Ramallah, lives in Jericho. She had tried to explain to the soldiers that her permit had expired and she hadn't yet acquired a new one. She didn't have a chance to explain this subtlety. 'Go go' the soldier had ordered her and that was that. A delicate looking young man who lives in E-Ram, his ID supporting this, had gone to visit his ill father in a hospital in Ramallah. Apparently he had a permit, but due to stress had forgotten it that morning. When coming back, he begged the soldiers to check through the radio to would verify his claim. 'It isn't my problem' answered the soldier flatly. Finally we saw the 'wall', a ditch stretching as far as the eye can see. It was very cold, and gray, with strong dusty winds. The drivers said that the work continued at night too, an incessant sound of hammers, piercing the ears. The taxi drivers waiting on the North told us that the confiscated taxis had been brought there a few days earlier, after having been caught on Betunia road. They had been asked to drive to the airport. Their keys, IDs, driver's license and car papers had been taken for checkup, then returned to them. The vehicles, however, were impounded.B., one of the impounded transit drivers told us it had been the occupants of a roaming jeep, not the checkpoint soldiers, who had stopped him when he turned left to Qalandya. First one of them had said to B that he must pay 2000 shekels, and only then could he get his car back in 40 days, B tried to bargain. At first the officer was willing to lower the 'price' to 20 days, then 10, then the demand of money was removed and the officer said B. should come at 8 a.m the next day, ask for Heit (the Hebrew letter) and presumably his taxi would be returned to him.He and others report money demands on different pretexts. One was told he owed 5000 shekels to the income tax and will only receive his taxi after payment (to the soldier??). To whom is this money going? Who issued these demands? It seems we've entered a new stage in the already long history of taxis' harassment.First there were the Palestinian taxis driving in the presumably Jerusalem area (mainly between E-Ram and Qalandya), and main streets (for Jews only) which reached a new peak just before the holiday with the confiscation of fifty transits all at once.Before that, we witnessed the impounding of Israeli plated transits (driven by blue IDs' drivers) who have amongst their passengers a passenger with a Palestinian ID); they have to pay high fees and their transits are confiscated for a month. Added to this are those with Palestinian IDs driving Israeli plated transits. Their cars are confiscated for various periods of time.And now we have entered a new stage. This time, on Palestinian territory. Transits with Israeli plates driven by drivers with Palestinian IDs are hunted, and their cars confiscated.I will write separately what we were told about the differences (from the Palestinian's point of view) between owning an Israeli plated transit and a Palestinian one (amongst those who work in the territories). I'll only say that this last 'infraction', i.e. driving a yellow plated transit in the territories by a Palestinian was not considered a problem before the Intifada, these cars were bought within the law, everything in order, what changed here is history, and what was not considered a crime, is now...5.20 p.m. Sudden check. Dozens of men (orange and yellow IDs) detained by border police on their way north, and their IDs checked. After twenty minutes they were released. No one explained to them why they were detained. We were begged to stay until they were released. We reassured him we were not going to, and hadn't intended to.