Etzion DCL, Mon 26.11.07, Morning

Two Hummers are along the descending road. An empty Palestinian car raises the suspicion of soldiers. 

08:00 Beit-Omer

Some people ask for assistance with dealing with the police; one of them is a young and desperate man, he has served time in prison and was on probation for three years. His police record prevents him from getting a magnetic card. He has five children at home; how is he going to feed them?

We are told that soldiers made night visits to families in Beit-Omer. Later we found out that soldiers came to some ten houses, between 1:00 AM – 2:00 AM, frightening children and other family members, all this to summon them to a GSS investigation over at Etzyon DCL. Why do they have to do this in the middle of the night? The next day the people sit for hours at the DCL; when we left at noontime they had still to be called in. On the road leading away from Beit-Omer we notice more military vehicles: jeeps and Hummers. There is more military than usual on the road today. 
 

08:30 Beit-Anun

Traffic is light. Garbage accumulates around the dirt and rock barricade. The garbage piles around the barricade have a tendency to grow. 

09:00-10:00 Nebi-Yunes

A few people approach us and ask for help - the usual stuff: licenses, reports, etc.  

10:30 Etzyon DCL

A few people are waiting – some of them are waiting for the police. They are told by the soldier that a policeman will only arrive at 11:00 am. We called to try and locate Maher. We found out that he was copying papers in the office and therefore did not open the window. Meanwhile the people are waiting and waiting. After repeated requests he opens the window and answers people. Also there are the people from Beit-Omer who were summoned by the GSS (these include university personal and others). An Arab-Israeli approaches us and tells us that in the smaller settlements, like Nokdim, workers are required to deposit their id cards at the gate. Is it even legal to take someone’s id card away?