Southern West Bank

Meytar
6.40am: The parking lot on the Israeli side is still packed with vehicles, waiting for the last workers to be checked.
Three buses of prisoners' families park on the Palestinian side, the women and children standing in line awaiting security check, while workers who still arrive pass through towards the checking positions.

The Red Cross diligently explains that they all go to Ramon (prison) today.

Route 60

All the side roads leading to route 60 are open and on some of them, military vehicles can be seen, looking out for cars and stopping some for a quick check. Lots of orange taxis are rushing towards Hebron, stopping to take students and teachers along the road.

Hebron

A CPT volunteer at the Pharmacy CP told us that check ups are relaxed and most civilans are not checked at all.

Going to visit Michael, we saw some soldiers escorted by a policeman wandering around the olives, waiting for the harvesting farmers. Michael told us that it was recently announced that Sunday and Monday are "olive harvesting days in the Hebron area". He doubted that the farmers were aware of this and added that they determine harvesting relative to the olives' ripeness alone.

On our way back we didn't see any military vehicles along the road and in some olive grooves there were farmers picking.

Translator:  Charles K.

Route 317
All the “illegal” outposts (as if the other ones were legal) observe us from the hilltops. All have paved access roads, water and electric lines, and a number of Hummers protecting them. We didn’t stop at the checkpoint near Beir Yattir.  Maybe someone should check to see whether the problems with the Abu-Kabita children have been resolved. 

Umm el-Hir
We picked up Eid, from Umm el-Hir. She tells us about problems with settlers from Carmel who live next to the fence, near the village’s traditional bread oven. The oven (which might be older than Carmel) operates in the traditional way – it’s heated by fire. Don’t forget, Umm el-Hir has almost no access to electricity, except solar energy from the Village Group project. The oven emits smoke that sometimes, depending on the wind direction, annoys the residents of the Carmel settlement. The latter sometimes come in the middle of the night and pour water over the oven so it’s unusable in the morning (it takes a few hours to warm it up). A few days ago it happened again. They called the police. There was a lot of talk about compromise (blah blah blah), and that was it. With a little imagination it would be possible to “cook up” a solution – for example, install an electric oven and get electricity from Carmel. 

Hashem el-Daraj: the kindergarten
We drove on to Hashem el-Daraj. We had made an appointment (with Eid’s help) with Huda, the kindergarten teacher, to visit the kindergarten. There were about 35 children aged 3-4. When we arrived the children sat at small tables, drawing. Since there aren’t enough tables some of the children sat in a second row and, of course, just watched the others drawing. Noa and Noga sat with the children and drew with them. I drew with the children seated in the second row, on the floor. We had brought Frisbees that had been donated along with many other toys, and Noga and Noa played with the children.   
The interior of the kindergarten looks a little better after Aliya, the kindergarten teacher, and her husband had visited – a few decorations, a poster with numbers, etc. We gave Huda her October salary, from donations we’d received:  from a British foundation and from members of our MachsomWatch group.We talked about needs that could easily be met: balls, paddles, in short – outdoor games that don’t have to be assembled from parts that must be stored together when not in use.
Huda, of course, served us tea (the gas balloon is located in the room. It’s really dangerous – but otherwise it would be stolen). The plan is to begin building soon. Noa is working with the architect who volunteered to prepare a renovation plan for the kindergarten! It’s also necessary to find a professional kindergarten teacher, preferably a Bedouin woman, to keep an eye on the project – to make weekly visits, for example. So if anyone has any ideas – let us know. 
At the end of the day (which will be the beginning…) the kindergarten will be splendid.

Translator:  Charles K.

Sansana-Meitar
At 6:40am, the relatives of prisoners go through in three buses. The laborers have already crossed. The young man from Hebron who works for the Red Cross coordinating the crossing – wearing a white shirt, looks like a tourist, a real stud – asks me how it was in Australia and talks about emigrating. The market outside is open as usual and there are many more cars in the parking lot than there were last time I was here.

I wonder to myself whether the economic situation in Palestine has improved, and hope, for their sake, it has.  The fences keeping people in line in the waiting area are waist-high, and people can escape the line if necessary (if they feel nauseous or sick). Much more humane than at Tarquimyya, where the fences are like huge pens. Trucks carrying sand go through as before, the parking lot is larger, as is the inspection sheds. A real “terminal.” The dust covering the Middle East and the architecture of occupation cast a shadow on the thought that perhaps, one day…

Route 60
It’s obvious that the road is no longer an apartheid route and many Palestinian cars – some, appearing new – are on it. A temporary checkpoint at the entrance to Dahariyya: an army jeep with four soldiers, two of whom stop cars, often also inspecting ID papers. They let some cars go through. They’re from a combat engineer unit, the commander a lieutentant.

What’s most obvious, and new to me, is the pillbox that’s been built on the hill between Deir Razak and Abda – the spy balloon next to it – the highest hill in the area. Arik Sharon’s vision is coming true. “Big brother” watches day and night. The settlements are all on the hilltops, the Palestinian localities down below. At the turn to what was once the Adurayyim combat engineers base (the Palestinians called it the “Majnuna”) there’s a large sign on the road – to Negohot. We didn’t take that road because there’s the usual warning – Entry to Area A Prohibited – but apparently entry isn’t prohibited to settlers. The road doesn’t appear in the road atlas, but its essentially an east-west road connecting Route 60 and Route 638. 

Dura Elfawwar: The crossing is open and there’s no flying checkpoint. 

Kvasim junction: The sheep market is open, and we suddenly realize where the name comes from [“Kvasim” is Hebrew for “sheep”].  The gate there is also open and cars go through without hindrance. 

The entrance to Kiryat Arba: Seven months ago no soldier was stationed at the entrance; now there is one: The guard in the booth and Muhammad know each other, and he lets us go through without any problems.  The entry road is being widened, and instead of a sliding gate there’s one that’s raised and lowered.The outpost to the right of the road seems to be expanding.  The trailers changed color, and now they’re wooden structures painted a sort of orange. They’re visible from farther away. One looks demolished but the others – I counted five – stand in place. 

Hebron
A jeep is parked at the entrance to Beit Ha’meriva, but we don’t see any detainees. Another jeep is parked at the entrance to the Jabel Muhar neighborhood. Soldiers from the Lavie battalion are in charge now. 

Curve 160: The gate is closed as usual, and children go around it on both sides on their way to school. 
No one is crossing at the Pharmacy checkpoint and beyond it, on the road leading to the Shouhada Street, there’s another position: yet another pillbox which, seven months ago, was empty but is now manned by a solitary soldier. There’s another position next to Beit Hadassah, with a single soldier. 

Tarpa”t checkpoint: A few Palestinians greet us, Muhammad receives a present – a strand of prayer beads – and an army jeep is parked at the checkpoint. 

Up at the Tel Rumeida checkpoint the soldiers are sitting on the curb, and next to the settlement at Tel Rumeida another solitary soldier is in position. Another army jeep is parked next to the pillbox above the Ashkenazi cemetery, the children’s clinic and the gynecologist are open – we leave the car there and walk to visit Michael, Tzipi’s son. 

On our way back, we pass by the Patriarchs' Tombs' Cave – no detainees there either.
Despair hangs like a black cloud over this place. 

Route 60
Shuyukh–Hebron: The stones blocking the entrance are arranged in an amazingly well-ordered manner.On our way back, below Beit Haggai, we see, written in black on a blue concrete cube next to the checkpoint, “Nothing happens here, nothing…”

Also on our way back, below Othniel – a bus belonging to the Hebron Hills regional council is stuck, three soldiers guarding it from fifty meters away.
A Palestinian family is picking olives. For a moment we feared the settlers were once again “exacting a price,” but the phony calm of the area hadn’t been broken. 

Sansana: At the checkpoint on our way back they opened the back door of the car to make sure we weren’t smuggling Palestinians.  They checked our ID cards as ususal.

Translated by Charles K.

6:30-9:30
The army is clamping down – to eliminate Hamas? Or is it Bibi’s “other hand”, creating proof that “there’s no one to talk to”? The Israeli government is again singing two tunes at the same time. 

Meitar crossing
By this hour in the morning, all the laborers have crossed. Relatives of prisoners are waiting in two buses to go through. 

Route 60
Everything looks normal until we reach the turn to Es-Samua. After that, however, the IDF has set up flying checkpoints at all the junctions: The yellow minibuses are detained for inspection at the entrance to Es-Samua. Many concrete cubes have been brought to the parking area of the headquarters of the Judea brigade and to the area on the other side of the road. Soldiers patrol at the turnoff to Karameh. The concrete blocks that had been abandoned for a long time at both entrances of the Dura Elfawwar junction have been lined with sandbags and again look like firing positions. Soldiers stand inspecting every vehicle. Soldiers patrol near the locked gate below (the settlment of) Beit Haggai, at the southern outskirts of Hebron. 
The same sight at the Kvasim Junction: jeeps and soldiers on both sides of the road. Soldiers and military vehicles at the entrance to Kiryat Arba. The roadwork on the magnificent entrance to Hebron continues vigorously. The guard who was always pleasant is still polite but gives us a sour look today (maybe I’m imagining things?). Posters all along the road invite people to hurry and sign up for “Yisrael Sheli.” 

Hebron
All the barricades in Hebron are also manned, including those which had been empty for a long time. You can feel the presence of the Kfir brigade. There are many soldiers at Curve 160 on the road to the Jabal Johar neighborhood – where the army carried out an operation last week – but it’s quiet. Pupils and others cross through the Pharmacy and Tarpa”t checkpoints, but aren’t usually detained. A soldier on the way up to Tel Rumeida detains almost everyone. Since he releases them immediately, we don’t intervene. At the Pharmacy junction we ran into people from CPT. They tell us that since the military operation the situation in the city is very difficult and tense. The IDF carries out searches almost daily in the H1 area, and also greatly restricts the activities of CPT members. They feel they’re being put upon so they’ll get sick of being there, and leave the city. Is Hamas the only ones who want the peace talks to fail? The answer is blowing in the wind.

Translated by Naomi S.

Route 60

Dahariya: a combat engineering unit is stopping cars and examining both the vehicles and the documents of those sitting in them on their way out of Dahariya.

Dura Elfawwar: a military vehicle is standing on the side.

At the turn to Beit Hagai (settlement): Soldiers examine vehicles and documents, including those of the Palestinian Authority's Customs Police.

Bani Naim: Border Police soldiers halt vehicles and examine them.

The entry to Sauyokh is blocked and goods are transferred back-to-back.

Hebron

We arrived there after school children have already passed through. We met C.P.T. activists who promised to send us a photo of a house which was demolished in the course of an "extermination operation".

A resident of Hura complains of the humiliating and degrading attitude of check-up officers towards the Bedouins of Har Amsha, Metzudot Yehuda checkpoint (Beit Yatir).  

translated by Bracha B.A.

The soldiers from Nahal are leaving Hebron, and the Kfir Brigade will take their place. 

Meitar-Sansana Crossing
The crossing is empty.  The workers have all crossed through and there are no prisoners' families.

Route 60
A special military vehicle is standing at Mitzpeh Eshtamua, apparently equipped with observation equipment.  Until we reach Dura Elfawwar the road is nearly empty, with no vehicles or pedestrians. After that, there were many school children going to school in the UNWRA School in Elfawwar. When we came back soldiers came down from the pillbox and began checking cars. 
Beneath Beit Hagai soldiers were standing on the road armed from head to foot. When we drove back they were gone.  The house taken over by soldiers at the Bnei Naim junction is now empty, but the road is full of military vehicles. 

Hebron
At the entrance to Kiryat Arba there is a large IDF contingent, and a new smiling soldier greets us. "Ah, it's you again?  There are two of you?" He lets us pass. The Avihai outpost is repopulated and there are cars and people milling about.  The city of Hebron is busy with morning traffic: with children going to school and a lot of soldiers. It is the last morning that the Nahal military unit is present in Hebron and their presence is felt at the Worshippers' Route, Curve 160, and Gross Square. At the pharmacy checkpoint and Tarpat Checkpoint soldiers are not checking the children. 
We met women from the CPT who were pleased to see us, and wanted to ensure that we could come next week, since they are apprehensive about what will happen once the soldiers from the Kfir Brigade arrive. They report that there have been no problems with the Nahal soldiers. 
A young soldier greets us with "Ah, machshomwatch women!" We ask him what he has heard about us and he says that he doesn't want to use foul language. We ask him if he is pleased to be leaving Hebron and he says yes, that no one wants to serve in Hebron. There is a group of soldiers patrolling again near Tel Romeida. There are a lot of army vehicles parked near the Patriarchs' Cave Tombs. The changeover of military forces is apparent. We hope that this time the Kfir soldiers will be more humane than they were the last time round.

Trans. by Naomi S.

From Tarqumiya to Hebron
at the Shayukh Shair Junction, the easy-west throughway is again blocked by boulders, and west of the road there's now a double blockage (what's the idea?). According to M, these blockages were put up following the terror attack at the Bani Naim Junction.
At the peak of Give'at Avichai, the buildings as well as (Israeli) flag are "as usual".
And again, the reiterative Graffiti "Kahane was right" itches the eyes.
Next to Curve 160, there's a jeep with soldiers and another, next to the booth, but it is rather quiet. The streets are almost empty – a ghost town.
Pharmacy Checkpoint: the same.
And in Tarpat and Tel Rumeidah checkpoints, nice Nahal soldiers, happy to be leaving in two days' time. To our query, "what will you say in a while about your experiences in Hebron?" they reply (after some reflection): "complicated" and also conceded that "difficult" and "inhuman".
On the upwards road to Tel Rumeidah, there's much activity, many soldiers and a signpost: "here will be built with God's help Nahal Shlomo".
At the Kaphisha checkpoint, cars transfer commodities "back-to-back".

Visit, tea and sympathy at the local ironmonger's.

Translator:  Charles K.

07:30-10:00

Sansana-Meitar crossing

A few laborers were still crossing to the Israeli side when we arrived, but there were none waiting to be inspected.  The peddlers began packing up.  Two laborers seated next to their car asked us for help – they don’t know why their permits had been taken from them.  We gave them the phone numbers listed on the Machsom Watch information sheet.

Route 60

Flying checkpoints and soldiers at many locations along the way: on the road down to the west, next to Dahariyya, cars are being stopped to check license and registration.  Those we saw were released quickly.

At the southern entrance to Hebron, which is blocked, we stop on the side of the road to watch.  A soldier starts toward us, but when we see that cars are released quickly we drive on.

There are soldiers at the kvasim junction (literally: Sheep Junction) and at the entrance to Bani Na’im soldiers stand on the roof of a house they took over in what’s called the "Almant kass" procedure (literally: “Grass widow” procedure -- meaning, in essence, that the military takes over an inhabited house for its own purposes, either ordering its inhabitants to leave altogether or allowing them limited living quarters within).

Hebron

There’s an army jeep parked opposite the entrance to Kiryat Arba also.  There’s a new security guard standing at the first entrance to Kiryat Arba (he says he’s already been there a year), a young man with a large kippah, doesn’t know about Machsom Watch.  We gave him a calling card, which he returned to us.  He insists on telephoning the police and makes us wait 20 minutes by the roadside.  Meanwhile he talks with us and asks about the organization (for example, why are there no male members).  At one point he says that we have to telephone the police and request an escort.  Fortunately, a police jeep passing by tells him to let us through.

Hebron is quiet, withdrawn and depressing as always.  Mostly settlers in the streets.  We stop at the grocery in Tel Rumeida.  Two Naha”l soldiers approach us, ask who we are.  One of them hadn’t heard of Machsom Watch.  They’re mainly want to know whether or not Muhammad has a blue ID card.  Despite what we tell them, one insists on checking.  They tell us they’re leaving Hebron, to be replaced by soldiers from the Kfir brigade.