Abu-Dis

On the way, at the Jewish
"fortress" in Ras El-Amud were heavy-armed guards, many
flags, and all the lights still burning (it was after 6:30 AM), but
no inhabitants. We marvelled at the new asphalt on Jericho Road
with its fancy Ackerstein-sidewalks. One lone border police-jeep
approached from the other direction. Along the wall we noted some
men jumping over it. A young girl said that she, too, jumps the
wall daily, at a special spot for women. She said the hotel will
probably soon be reopened. She had heard that the entire wall would
soon be dismantled... The little gate was open, and three border
policemen randomly checked some young men at a distance of about 20
meters from the gate. Six were held up, but soon released and sent
home. They had no permits, but claimed to work at construction near
the wall. At the gate some men were directing youngsters when to
try and cross, since the soldiers often had their backs to the
wall.

Wadi Nar. Our taxi driver said that with his yellow number, it
takes him 2-3 hours' waiting to cross Wadi Nar to Bethlehem. He
prefers to not even try, leaving his passengers near where the
container used to be. He said he used to work a lot in West
Jerusalem, but has stopped, since people get off as soon as they
realize that he is Arab. He showed us the cigarette factory and the
realm of Abu Ala (the Housing Ministry), deploring how much money
from the poor people goes to the governors. He has little faith in
his leader, and doubts Abu Maazen will prove any better than his
predecessor. If ever a Palestinian State will come into being, he
said, things will only turn out worse for the population. The only
one he really ever had faith in was King Hussein. Sawahre: A tall,
round, concrete watchtower, and nets to provide some shade. It
increasingly looks like a permanent checkpoint, with more equipment
and concrete slabs. Seven men were sitting in the sun waiting for
their papers, for over an hour, they said. The border policemen
refused to speak to us, and told us to wait for their commander,
due to arrive any minute. Meanwhile a soldier took one driver's
keys "to teach him a lesson", and refused passage to
another. An elderly paediatric neurologist whose papers permit
travel all over the West Bank and even inside Israel was not let
through, until we insisted. The owner of the cement factory down
the valley was told to wait. He knows the soldiers well, yet every
day he is made to wait, sometimes for ten minutes, but at other
times for hours. The seven held-up workers were released five
minutes after a phone call we made. Then the commander, AK,
arrived. He said that everyone forges papers, even doctors. On the
way back our driver was informed by an oncoming transit that a
checkpoint had suddenly been put up further on our way, and he
became very fearful. He was tempted to turn around, but continued.
A soldier opened the car door, looked at us and signalled the
driver to proceed. He thanked us profusely and said that this was
his lucky day.