Abu Dis, SawahreTue. 25.01.05 p.m.Observers: Rina H., Channah G., Rahel W. (reporting)We got to the pishpash at about 2:15. There were very few people around, but there was a border police jeep making some checks. The gate to the monastery was open and people were passing through.Continued up to the Cliff Hotel (road barely passable). The place was a mess. It was pretty much surrounded by a fence. The yard was more torn up than usual. We walked down the road a bit on the road leading to the Moskowitz settlement where we were confronted by two border police who told us that we could either continue walking down or go back, but we couldn’t stand there because “we might be run over”. (In the 15 minutes we were there, two vehicles passed!!).We parked on a side street near the pishpash and crossed over through the monastery. There were no transits there and we soon learned the reason why. Our much loved friend and loyal driver of over a year, Ahmed Hatib had been murdered the day before in a stupid argument with a cousin. His funeral was about to take place when we arrived. We walked over to the cemetery, but because no other women were there, we left. We will return to pay a “shiva call” to his wife and mother whom we also got to know through Ahmed. Ahmed leaves behind him 3 children under the age of 4 and a 20 year old pregnant widow. He himself could not have been more than 28. We went down to the Container where four b.p.’s who were manning the crossing might just as well have been someplace else. They were having a good time among themselves and paid no attention to the vehicles passing through. We saw the ridiculous spectacle of some drivers slowing down with their documents in hand and no one bothering even to look. At 3:30, there was a change of guard which quickly led to a build up of traffic. After a 10 to 15 minute delay, checks resumed, now very thoroughly. After the first two drivers were put through a very stringent check, things got back to normal and traffic moved quickly in both directions.