Abu-Dis,Shekh Saed Friday, 16.06.2006, AM (8:40-12:30)Observing and reporting : Vivi, Nurit, Michal Z.Stun grenades. Man hunting. Shouting. At every level, from the simple soldier to the high graded officers, everyone brandishes the flag of order and law. The more unbearable the situation is, less we have words to describe it.When we arrive at Shekh Saed at 8:40, it seems to be calm. Few people at the village. A few minutes later, they throw stun grenades, 6 or 7. We ask why, and the answer is that they did it, to disperse a riotous mob. We went to the village and saw a special unit running up and down, at every possible passage. Hunting people from all corner. BPs shouting, indifferent to the suffering of the palestinians. Deaf at everyone. We counted 14 soldiers, the special unit included . At the checkpoint itself 4 BP, including a woman. Suddenly the men of the special unit decided that the road up to the rear of the village is closed. Sitting on the ground several very old men waiting, some disabled with sticks.They only want to go to pray at El Aksa. And they wait, wait with an infinite patience a miracle, that will not happen.We began to make calls, DCO, humanitarian, spokesman, P., the Unit commander, even E.F. We reached Y. from the DCO (O. is on holiday). He tried to help. It means he will give the permission for the elderly with an authorization to go throug the checkpoint. We told him that no one has an authorization. He cannot do anything. Law is law. Orders are orders. Same answer from A.L., from P., from the humanitarian.Everyone is sent to Zeitim CP. The BP has no idea where it is. How to get there, how far it is. How much it costs to get there. In the meantime dozens and dozens of people arrive standing quietly in line several meters from the checkpoint. The BP : “One by one, go back,” They approach, one by one, mostly elderly women with their heavy bundle on their head. No one has an authorization. They are sent back. But again and again they approach, one by one and again are sent back. They come from several parts of the territories. We succeed to help two blind youngsters, a very sick woman that almost fainted at the checkpoint in front of the BP accompanied by her sister in law, to go through. A bus on its way to Jerusalem is catched, not far from the checkpoint, All the passengers are ordered down. (people climbed from the wadi to reach the bus). They are send back to the checkpoint. They came from Hebron, Bethlehem, Kalkilya. A driver takes us to the so called donkeys path. We see dozens of women climbing the very steep path carrying heavy bundles on their head. They have no chance to go through the checkpoint. Down, where the road is becoming more or less normal, we see the transits that brought them from Sawahre. We met our friend Ahmed from Sawahre that now is driving Palestinians to Shekh Saed. He complains about “our State”. One Palestinian told us that he already spent 55 Shekel to arrive, for nothing. Concerning the elderly, we hoped after our call to Y. (DCO) that maybe today the BP would let them go to pray. They too hoped. Some of them were very angry at us. The BP woman couldn’t understand why they had to go to El-Aksa and another BP explained to her that for religious people it is the most holy place to pray, like the Wailing Wall.(No comment).When we left at 11:35, about 150 Palestinians were quietely standing in line. They have still hope!At Abu-Dis, as usual, at every opening BP’s. The decorative wall is in progress. At The Pishpash, a group of Palestinian at the East side. They are sent to Zeitim CP.