Ar-Ram, Mon 8.9.08, Morning

Nebi Samuel, Road block Gib Qalandia,
A-Ram CP 

In Nebi Samuel we turned right from the
burial sight towards a small group of old stone houses. Some boys suggested
we visit Camal the grocery shop owner who lives in his shop – a small
house of one room. The whole "village" consists of 15 buildings
and 150 people. In 1971 most of the village was destroyed, including
his home, most inhabitants left. The place is very dirty, the garbage
is not being collected (only one burnt garbage can exists at the burial
sight). The children learn in a small building that belongs to the Palestinian
Authority, some go to school either in Beit Iksa or in Ramallah. The
village people are allowed in and out but Palestinians who do not have
the village address in their ID card are not allowed in. Camal told
us that his son in law can not come to visit him, "it's like a
prison" he says. Every little addition to one of the houses is
immediately destroyed. There is no authority from which they can get
building permits and applying to the court takes ages. He pointed towards
the slopes of Nebi Samuel where a lone "settler" has surrounded
his house and orchard by dogs and guards and nobody is allowed near
him.

We continued along the road to our left
we saw the new houses of "Har Shmuel", which for some reason
is named Givaat Zeev. On the right, shortly after the filling station,
we saw the temporary El Gib road block on the path of the security fence
that is being built. The workers who are serve as builders or domestic
help in Givaat Zeev are allowed through on foot. Most of them are being
brought by car to the fence by their employers.

on the way to Qalandiya another road block,
it takes the Lorries on their way to the industrial zone of Atarot about
half an hour to pass.

We did not stop at Qalandia and went
via the Nusseibe housing project to the A-Ram CP. There we saw a long
line of cars on their way to Jerusalem. Each car was stopped, papers
were examined and the drivers had to step out to open the car trunks
by themselves.

Ramadan Karim…..