A few metres before the gas station were two jeeps and the usual
Kafkaesque situation. About 20 men, the majority middle aged, were
being detained. In the meantime in the distance people were jumping
the wall in either direction and cars were passing freely in both
directions without being checked. The soldiers said they were too
busy checking the detainees’ papers to deal with the cars
too….only the female soldier, A., was reading numbers into her
telephone while the others were sitting in the jeep or outside. The
attitude of the soldiers, however, was correct and polite and not
hostile. One man whom we tried to speak to, asked us not to engage
him in conversation, as it could cause him trouble with the
soldiers. We made some calls but found no one who could help us. A
number of others told us that children had been stopped from going
to school by tear gas being thrown
indiscriminately.

The gate on top of the hill has now been replaced by a
concrete slab, though people are still able to climb over the side
of the wall. A number of women climbed over the wall near the gas
station but with great difficulty. It meant that they had to walk a
very narrow strip. One man said that he had passed with no problem
in the morning going to Augusta Victoria. A. said that even though
he has a permit to pass, he has to also have a stamp that he can do
so in times of curfew and closure. Eventually, the detainees’
papers were returned and all left.