Abu Dis, Container Wednesday PM, 13.10.04Observers: NR, AF, TF (reporter)15:05 Pishpash -BawabeA BP jeep near the concrete cubes. A local taxi driver says it just arrived. 5 young men are crowding near the open jeep, probably for ID inspection. The rest of the traffic is undisturbed. About 2 minutes later everyone receives back their IDs (orange) and shortly afterwards the jeep is off.15:25 Cliff HotelTwo trucks on the road. One is filling its water tank besides an electricity post bearing a paper sign with the name “Kidmat Zion” on it and an arrow.Near and inside the hotel no BP presence is seen. The window of the first floor is closed. Near the wall towards Kidmat Zion the road bears signs of wetting.15:50 Az-Za’ayyem checkpointOne car being checked, no detainees in sight. In the junction in front of Ma’ale Adumim, a policeman is giving a report to an orange taxi driver. The driver receives his green ID and his report, and the police car continues to lurk on the roadside.On the way to Kedar, near the concrete cubes on the turning to the old road, someone threw garbage on the road, making passage even more difficult.16:05 ContainerTwo detainees in the shelter, four taxis and their passengers who were ordered to descend are detained by the grocery store. The barrel and boards barrier which prevents traffic from the apartheid road is still there. Apart from the usual BP soldiers there is also a vehicle of the dog handler unit, containing two armed female soldiers and a dog.Nobody prevents us from speaking with the detainees near the grocery store. One taxi is released within minutes, the passengers of two others say they have been waiting for over an hour. Another man, taken off a van that continued without him, says the soldiers didn’t believe he was 19 years old.16:10A taxi going to Jerusalem is sent to the detention area. All passengers are told to get off and wait on the side behind a concrete wall. The driver is required to pull over on the side, open all doors including the baggage compartment and wait behind the wall as well. the two dog handlers and the dog start inspecting the car. Persons trying to look at them from behind the wall are ordered to retreat behind it again.The dog sniffs all around the car. The usual stray dogs that hang about the checkpoint are barking. For ten minutes the traffic towards Jerusalem stops altogether, including an ambulance. Before the taxi’s inspection is over the passage is opened again. another truck is sent to be inspected by the dog while the ambulance shows documentation and is allowed to continue. Once the inspection is over (16:25) the passengers are allowed back in the van without having their IDs taken.16:15A detained taxi driver receives 2 IDs from a soldier. One doesn’t belong to any of his passengers. the right owner of the ID is located in the shelter on the other side of the checkpoint. The soldier doesn’t go all the way over to return the ID but waits from the detainee to approach him and take it.There are delays in the pedestrian’s passage. The people taken off the vans are asked to wait before the beginning of the covered passage. A soldier makes them pass one by one, sometimes in pairs.16:20A taxi detainee we met when we arrived gets his ID with a note. Another detainee explains it is a summons to the shabac.Private cars are passing without problems since our arrival, only taxis and buses are being detained. M. the checkpoint commander who is willing to answer our questions (“depends which”) explains that drivers and passengers of private cars need permit from the DCO, and “all I do is check the permits”. As for the 19 year old detainee, he says the matter is being checked. He is released at 16:35, without a summons to the shabac.In the meantime a full bus is detained and there are two pedestrians in the shelter. The dog handlers are standing on the Jerusalem lane. They explain that usually there is only one dog handler who arrives when there are special warnings, but this time they are two of them because one is training. H., the one who’s training, knows our organization and supports it, but justifies her presence there by being able to watch and possibly help somehow. The veteran dog handler explains that the passengers are sent to hide behind a wall during the inspection because otherwise they might learn how to cheat the dog by knowing which parts it can’t sniff. 16:58 Another taxi is stopped for dog inspection.17:00An open truck carrying five large cardboard boxes and three men is detained by the grocery store. The checkpoint commander orders to unload the boxes and open them. Inside there are clothing items. The commander insists on opening every box and tearing some of the plastic wrappings. Inside the cars a small plastic package containing a shirt is found and teared open as well.17:14Another truck is being dog inspected. The passengers, two men and two elderly women, are sent behind the wall.The detainees shelter is filled by about 20 bus passengers and van passengers going south. 17:20 A private car bearing the sign of the red cross is sent back south. One man descend and goes on by foot. He says the driver has an English passport and a Israeli license plate.17:45 One bus is released, another detained. A soldiers collects IDs from all the passengers. There is no lighting despite the descending darkness.18:00slow but flowing traffic at Az-Za’ayyem checkpoint.