CP 300, El Khader, Ezion DCL, Al Arrum Wednesday, 1/9/2004 Observers: Sylvia P., Diana H. (reporting), 2 guests The day after the Beer Sheva attack. The first day of school. 6:30, CP 300. 5 detainees. The CP commander approached us and asked us to step back for our own safety. People and cars passing as usual. 6:55, Tunnels CP. Presence of both army and BP. Thorough checking of cars, a long line waiting. 7:00, El Khader. Lots of people waiting for transits and buses to Jerusalem. An army jeep “keeps the order”, one soldier pushing all people back towards the taxis’ area. He’s rude and nervous. Almost no one approaches us with stories. The soldier shouts to us to stop taking pictures of him, “it is not allowed”. School pupils start arriving at 7:40, but not many of them. One taxi driver tells us that at Al Arrum soldiers don’t allow taxis to pick up passengers and stop them. The soldiers leave all of a sudden. Blue police are directing the traffic, but it doesn’t seem they are giving traffic tickets. 8:25, Ezion DCL. Very few people. We ask why and are told that because of the Beer Sheva bombing, people think they won’t get permits and don’t come. Actually, people do get permits. We read the signs. Daniel, our guest, translates them for us. 8:50, Ezion CP. 40 detainees, all from Hebron. The soldiers are doing everything as slowly as possible. The bombing yesterday is mentioned. We call the DCL, no one answers. We manage to talk to M., and tell him that the 3 soldiers at the CP can’t handle efficiently so many detainees. In a few minutes about 20 are released. The taxi driver that talked to us at El Khader meets us again and urges us to go to Al Arrum. The CP commander tells us to step back for our own safety. 9:15, Al Arrum. 3 taxi drivers are detained near the pillbox. The soldiers tell us cars shouldn’t stop between the two blocks near the pillbox, but they are allowed to pick passengers wherever else they want. It is for the security of the soldiers. Yesterday several taxis stopped and didn’t move when told to, so the soldiers took their numbers and are stopping them today (punishment?). The commander explained everything, and was polite. He said that stones and Molotov bottles had been thrown on the road, so they had to close the entrance to the village. Two little girls on the balcony just opposed the pillbox waved to me and made signs all the time. How do you grow up vis-à-vis a bunch of men with guns? 9:40, Ezion CP. Again about 40 detainees. At the DCL no one answers; they are in a meeting. We drive away and continue to call them. M. tells me again he’ll take care of it, but we are already far so we can’t check. On the way back the Tunnels CP seems more open, and less cars are waiting.