Abu-Dis

Abu Dis
By the gas
station were plenty of transits but very few passengers.
Conversation between us and one of our transit driver friends on
the Eastern side, through the space between two of the concrete
slabs of the wall, was cut short by a border police commander, who
claimed that in times of closure it is forbidden to communicate
with people on the other side!! He was unimpressed by our protest.

At the hotel were no border policemen and no detainees.
At the intersection opposite from where the little gate used to be,
cars were stopped and IDs checked. Some elderly people climbed over
the wall on their way to Al-Aqsa. Neither their pleading nor our
own were of any help. On the Eastern side of the wall by the gas
station, we were told that a little girl had been hit on the head
by a tear gas grenade. She had been taken to a local clinic. We
were unable to find out more details, but the basic facts were
confirmed by several people.

Sawahre
Soldiers were deployed along the fence
separating Sawahre from Wadi Nar. The checkpoint was manned by the
usual three BP. There was a certain flexibility when it came to
dealing with sick and/or elderly people asking to go towards Abu
Dis. However, a truck driver who was stuck on the Bethlehem side of
the checkpoint with a load of produce claimed the BP weren't even
ready to look at his papers. We tried to help (he had a valid
three-month permit) but were told again that every permit issued
before October 7 needs to be renewed.