A very quiet shift. The little gate was
open, and no border police was in sight (all day, we were told).
The hotel entrance was blocked with a chain. The key is with the
border police (who, ironically, later had to ask a Palestinian to
help him open the lock). In the courtyard, a small group of
detainees, apparently caught in various places in Jerusalem, were
held, for ID registration, but were released within a half hour. A
border police officer told us that there was a total closure and
that only serious humanitarian cases were allowed to pass (yet the
gate was unguarded!). There was no checkpoint at the Eastern
entrance to Al-Eizariye and no detainees at Az-Zayem.