Bethlehem

We arranged to meet with taxi driver A.
to explore side/branching roads and dirt paths in the north and
northwestern Hebron region. Two days ago, A. chanced entry into
road 60 near the roadblocks to the northeast of Halhul, only to be
caught 10 minutes later by a passing military jeep. His keys and ID
were confiscated right away and he was left to wait on the road,
where he spent the next four hours or so. Few cab drivers make
attempts similar to A's these days, and road 60 this Sunday morning
was effectively cleansed of Palestinian vehicles. Apart from the
main roadblock at the main entrance (more later) there are numerous
smaller roadblocks that seal every other possible entrance from
road 60 to the village. We took the side road connecting Beit Omar
with the villages of Surif, Kharas and Nuba (all west of Beit Omar)
and then curves back to Halhul. The distance from Beit Omar to the
northern entrance to Halhul is approximately 2 kms, a two minute
drive on road 60; using the above mentioned side road took about 50
minutes. This road costs 7 NIS, 7 times as much as the ride on road
60. A. said that able bodied persons prefer to walk on the main
road, so that those who use the cab service are either the ill,
disabled or old, or those who must carry heavy luggage. Cost is a
big issue, the overwhelming majority cannot afford paying 14 NIS
for a round trip. When we finally reached Halhul, we learned of the
further tightening of the closure restrictions around Hebron. Some
50 meters from the sealed Halhul-Hebron bridge (by a series of
three huge barriers), we were informed that as of the previous
evening (Saturday) the bridge is closed to pedestrians; Hebron is
under full curfew and no one is allowed to enter or exit. Some
people were "stuck" in Halhul. We spent the next half an
hour or so driving in circles - together with several dozens cabs
from Halhul and Beit Omar - through the sealed streets of Halhul.
At each and every end there was either a permanent roadblock or an
improvised (manned) "flying" checkpoint, so that
passengers who were left off were prevented from crossing to Hebron
by foot. Drivers, passengers and pedestrians (ourselves included)
were caught like mice in a trap. We returned to Beit Omar through
yet another alternative route, riskier but shorter than the
Surif-Kharas-Nuba road. It is an extremely steep "raw"
dirt path, sewn with rocks of various sizes, that goes down a
narrow valley, at the bottom of which lay vine groves heavy with
this season's dark grapes. No private car would make it through
this path. A's Mercedes was showing the strain. In the middle of a
curve, we met five or six young men riding a tractor (sitting on a
cart) driven by a resident of Halhul. Surrealistically enough, they
said they wanted to get to Ramallah... This "shortcut"
took over 40 minutes. Etzion: A crowd of no less than 50
Palestinians were confronted by a team of soldiers at the very
northern edge of the checkpoint compound. The majority were workers
from the Hebron district whose workplaces are in the Bethlehem
district or in Abu-Dis. They had spent hours on side dirt roads,
like the one we came on, until they arrived at Etzion, where
soldiers now prevented them from continuing their journey. It was
already 10.30 AM, and the day was one of the hottest in this
summer. People were pleading to be let through to their workplaces,
in vain. Four men were caught - approximately an hour and a half
before we arrived - as they tried to sneak through the fields; two
work in Bethlehem, another two in an aluminium workshop in
Eizariye. As punishment they were made to sit on the ground under
the sun with no water, and were literally begging for water. The
commander told us that he called the police so that the
"trespassers" be fined, but shortly after they were
released. The two who work in Eizariye managed to sneak through the
fields, and finally arrived at their workplace, where they will
stay until the end of the week.