afternoon

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Dec-27-2003
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Hawarra, Saturday afternoon, 27.12Tami P., Galit G., Hagit A. We are surprised to find the checkpoint completely empty—no vehicles and no pedestrians. The soldiers are sunning themselves. The passages have been arranged so it is no longer necessary to climb over piles or earth or concrete blocks. We learn that Schem is completely sealed off, and Beit Fouriq as well. The soldiers are relaxed. One tell us they are religious men, ‘from the right of the spectrum’. There is an Arabic-speaking officer from the DCO office. Some ambulances arrive and are allowed through. Pedestrians are allowed through only if it is ‘a humanitarian matter’. A tired man and a young woman who is crying, who came from Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas, are not allowed through.A young woman with a month-and-a-half old babyinfo-icon, with a medical certificate indicating that the baby was operated on for hernia in November are not allowed through. The soldiers are polite but firm. We informed the Physicians for Human Rights, who took her name and said they would try to help. The DCO office told us the closureinfo-icon is total. There is one checkpoint open in N. Schem, we can tell people to go there. The waiting pedestrians tell us bitterly that it is a very long way around, and on the way there is at least one checkpoint where they won’t be allowed through. At the DCO office they say the checkpoint will be opened for 3 hours, probably tomorrow, not today. The soldiers are sure that the closure is due to army activity at Balata, to protect the civilians. We almost believed them. Some people who live just the other side of the checkpoint—you can see their homes from here—ask to go through, they are not going to Schem. Most of those waiting give up and go away. The woman with the baby waits. The sun goes down and it gets cold. Meanwhile we hear from internationals in Schem that not a single shot has been fired there in days, there is no apparent danger.We are still waiting from an answer from the Physicians about the baby. The checkpoint is almost empty. The officer lets the woman with the baby through, saying “Don’t make a habit of it.”