Dura-Al Fawwar Junction, Sansana (Meitar Crossing), South Hebron Hills

Closure shift

Because of the closure (i.e. the exclusion of all Palestinians entering Israel) during the whole of Passover week and because M. was due to leave that evening for a vacation, we decided to take a lightning shift to check the closure and the Mקitar checkpoint.  The checkpoint was of course silent and deserted. We met Uasser abu Ajaj of Lana TV, who provide reports to the major networks on the occupied West Bank. He told us that 6 out of 8 reports are accepted except for those that deal with political or security issues, but there is also internal "editing" of the reports that are accepted. 

We drove along Route 60: national flags are waving near the settlements, ready for Independence day in a couple of weeks.  The usual checkpoints were in place at Dahariya, Abda, and Al Fawwar but they were not staffed. However the army was much in evidence and the entrance/exit to the villages was also blocked.  The closure not only effects passage into Israel but also between the towns and villages in the West Bank because the army can prevent anyone from leaving or entering or crossing the internal checkpoints.  The closure paralyses the West Bank and leaves whole families without income. As usual nothing new!