Abu-Dis, Sawahre 5/5/2004 Watchers: Rachel M., Ayelet E., Levana R., Sylvia P. (reporting), a guest We wanted to see first the evil and madness, so we turned right from the Gas Station. The Cliff Hotel looked as always. No sign of army presence. No flags. We didn’t stop there but continued up to the first house occupied by the settlers. There were strong lights still working on the roof, even if it was already morning. No flags at the house either. We saw a man on the roof, a guard, we assumed. It is a house just outside the wall, at the hedge of the constructed wall in the area. We didn’t continue to see the second house. On our way back we found two soldiers in the street in front of the Cliff Hotel, so we parked the car and went to see what happens. They were stopping everyone and sending them back, regardless of the ID color. The only ones that passed were little girls on their way to school. One of the soldiers was Dimitri. We have seen him in other places in the area and he is not very nice to say the least. Since they were not letting blue IDs cross, we asked about ourselves, and they said that we are not allowed to cross either. But they didn’t stop us when we left. And we left soon since we found that we couldn’t do anything. Will soldiers stand in the street at the Cliff Hotel as a routine or they came out because they knew from the guard on the roof of the settler’s house, that we were there? Better to ignore the area? Anyway, when we arrive to the area almost no one is crossing there. Moreover, on our way back to Jerusalem we passed through the area again and there was no one there. The Pishpash gate was open and a BP jeep with one soldier on the roof and two inside were parked there and stopping people. Blue IDs and little children were crossing freely. Other ID holders were sent back regardless of the permits. We found there a teacher that was not allowed to pass as well as several workers heading to Al Mkased hospital. We called the IDF Humanitarian Center and there was no answer. So, we called Mike Raz and he said that it would be better soon. He talked with the soldiers. It looked like they were arguing, but the soldiers didn’t give up. Liran, the BP officer in charge, even refused to talk with him. There was a man that said that he is a medical engineer. He is responsible for the medical equipment in Al Mkased. He had a permit for “medical team”. Liran said that he is a cleaner in the hospital and he didn’t let him pass. In the permit, his profession was not mentioned but he had a card in Arabic. We couldn’t read it. He didn’t look as a blue-collar worker. We called Mike Raz again and he talked with the soldiers, but nothing helped. We wanted to continue trying, but the man refused since he said that finally the soldiers would get nervous and they were able to burn his permit. We obviously respected his will – it will not be us that will have to go to the DCO for a new permit. We hoped that after the change in the shift and he would be allowed to cross.According to the army rules, hospitals have to be run exclusively by doctors and nurses (that are allowed to pass) and schools need only children (that are allowed to pass) – no teachers. At the container, we found two men from the Ecumenical group. Four of them live in Sawahre and they stand at the container almost every day, two at each shift. It was quiet there – no detainees, no trucks waiting. It seems that everybody knows that it is not worth trying, so they don’t come. An ambulance and garbage trucks crossed almost freely while we were there. Suddenly a truck with soil threw it down on the side of the road, on the northern side of the checkpoint. We guessed that they were blocking the road, but it turned out that we were evil-minded. According to Koby, one of the soldiers at the checkpoint, they are enlarging the road. In fact, they are improving the place for trucks to wait more comfortably at the side and not obstruct the road. [We will still be surprised: they will open dormitories, a kitchen and toilets there. Don’t despair.] We had a chat with Koby who made a big effort to show us how nice he is; he is only taking care no terrorists cross. He blamed us of opposing the barrier that may solve the problem. When we said that not all of us oppose the barrier but we want it on the Green Line – the actual barrier is being built deep into the West Bank, it is not separating between Israelis and Palestinians but between Palestinians and Palestinians, he didn’t know what to answer. We don’t know Koby, but it is pretty sure that he will need a long time in the Far East or in South America to overcome the trauma of the reality he is living in during these years.