Abu-Dis 26/3/04 Watchers: Michal Z., Judith O., Avital B. (reporting) 9:00. On our way to Abu-Dis we noticed police checkpoints at all the entrances to Temple Mount. There was massive presence of Police and Border Police. 9:20. We arrived at Al-Faj corridor. BP soldiers at the end of the corridor barred passage to the West. The soldiers “suggested” that residents of nearby houses use Az-Za’ayyem checkpoint. One of the local residents, owner of a blue ID, reported that he’d been prevented from visiting his daughters, and that children who had stayed with him were unable to return to their homes. We spoke to Mike, the BP local commander, and he ordered his soldiers to allow holders of blue IDs who are over 45 go to through. (This solved the man’s problem, but not the children’s). Another resident told us that even though his wife has a blue ID, she was unable to register her daughters in her card; consequently, they have no medical insurance and no social security. In addition, Social Security representatives who were supposed to come and verify that the family indeed lives in Jerusalem (a pre-requisite for receiving benefits), had been afraid to come for the last two years. Thus, the family has been denied benefits. We wrote down the man’s particulars and will try to get him legal aid. 10:30. We moved to the Pishpash gate. A BP jeep was standing in the alley. The soldiers were manning 2 passages: in and out. They said their instructions were to allow only blue ID holders over 45 years old and women to go through. When we saw Mike there and told him, that crossing to Israel through Az-Za’ayyem is problematic, because of the high price, one of the soldiers commented, “They should learn to be more friendly and give one another rides.” Mike did not react. 11:00. We moved to the Eastern side of the wall and drove to Wadi-Nar (the container). We inquired about the woman who had been beaten by soldiers on Thursday. Everybody had heard about it, but we couldn’t find witnesses. Eventually, we found a driver we know who had been present and two Europeans who work in the area who witnessed the incident. Their detailed report will be sent to MachsomWatch. According to the three witnesses, on Thursday, around 18:00, the checkpoint by the container was closed. Many people climbed down through the wadi to the road, where they were picked up by cabs from Bethlehem. Suddenly, a BP jeep showed up and began chasing the pedestrians on the road. It stopped by a 60-year-old woman. A soldier got out and shouted at her to get back. She was too weak to turn back, and the soldier beat her with a club repeatedly as she continued to walk. The European who was present at the incident, called an ambulance and the woman, who was injured in the ear, was evacuated. When we got to the container, the checkpoint was closed. Many people were climbing up and down through the wadi, while the BP jeep chased them on the road below. At one point, the soldiers stopped people and took their IDs. The Palestinians had to go to the checkpoint to retrieve their IDs and waited 10 minutes while they were checked. Then they returned to Abu-Dis. Special events: One of the cab drivers told us that at 8:00 AM a BP jeep pulled up at Sawahre and the soldiers told him to stop. When he failed to do so on the spot, the soldiers forced him out and beat him. An ambulance with a sick woman accompanied by her daughter came to the checkpoint. The checkpoint commander let the sick woman through, but not her daughter. After a very long delay, and after we intervened, the commander let her through. A Medical team back from surgery in Jericho, a pick-up truck with medical supplies, and a patient from Ramallah (transferred to Bethlehem by ambulance) had fewer difficulties getting through, though they, too, had to wait. On the whole, the BP unit at the checkpoint was uncooperative and rude. We heard comments such as, “I’m doing them a favor letting them through”, referring to ambulances, and “Be my guest, go through the wadi… they shoot there, boom-boom,” accompanied with shooting gestures aimed at three women who wanted to cross the checkpoint on foot. 13:00. We returned to the Pishpash gate. On the Eastern side, Palestinians reported that a short while earlier there was a violent scuffle between PB soldiers and a resident who wished to cross to the Western side. One witness said that the man, holder of a blue ID, told the soldier that he needed to cross. The soldier refused him passage, but the man insisted. The soldiers then pushed him to the ground and dragged him to the Western side of the wall, where they beat him by the jeep. When he asked for their names, so he could lodge a complaint, they tried to apologize and offered him handkerchiefs to wipe his blood. On the other side, we ran into Mike and asked for his version of the incident. He claimed that it was the Palestinian who pushed the soldier first, and that the Palestinian was only lightly scraped. He added that the man had been taken to a police station because he “had attacked a police officer.” At the end of our shift, we called the Police station on Salah Ad-Din Street to find out what had transpired. We spoke to a female detective who reported that the man was detained for questioning, but so far, there was no decision to remand him. She said she could not supply details to civilians.