Abu-Dis

08.00. The gate is still blocked, in
spite of the promise to that it would be soon opened. A group of
twenty one men of all ages were caught at the gate, their papers
taken. They were ordered to the hotel to have their fingerprints
taken and to get their IDs back. They were held in the shade and
treated civilly, but checking was slow and the wait long. They
looked like les miserables, trying to eke out a living in West
Jerusalem. Back at the gate there were many people climbing through
the narrow dangerous passage and border policemen waiting at the
bottom. Only people with blue ID's or valid permits were let
through, no exceptions for the old or pregnant. We tried,
unsuccessfully, to help the humanitarian cases. We left very
despondent and pessimistic.