Rihan

Rihan, Tuesday, January 18, 2005, PMObservers: Bruria, Tirtsa, (reporting)The rain poured nonstop and the soldiers were soaked; in a way, that touched our hearts.When we arrived, we saw about 30 Palestinians waiting in the shed -- a scene we haven't seen in a long time. As it turned out, some of them were waiting for the rain to stop before they went on their way. Among them were 11 men without passage permits; in fact, they were "shabachim" (those who had been in Israel illegally) who wanted to return home to the West Bank for the holiday. As a punishment, their ID cards were confiscated and were being held in the pocket of the sergeant who was the inspection post commander. At the time we arrived, this had been going on for an hour and a half.All of a sudden, an impressive officer, a captain, arrived at the site, and immediately gave the detainees their papers back, sending them off. Following that, he gathered the soldiers and spoke with them calmly but firmly, and as much as we were able to hear (we were standing at a distance from the post), he was lecturing them regarding their role at the CP, which is to allow people to cross the gate as swiftly as possible. In our opinion, that briefing was unnecessary because the soldiers were truly efficient beforehand.A new development that made us happy: Each person carrying a bag was taken to the side to allow some privacy while inspecting the bag. Whereas in the past, they would have to pour the bag's contents out on the bare ground in front of everyone. (A regulation that was more prudent as far as the soldier's safety is concerned).We moved to the vehicle inspection post. The inspections went slowly and it seemed as if there were fewer soldiers than at the other post. The senior officer was aware of that and instructed two soldiers to move to the vehicle post; then the line started to move at a reasonable pace. We measured the waiting time, 15 minutes per vehicle.We noticed a UN car parked at the side of the road; in it were two people, and it looked as if they were observing. We had no contact with them.