Abu Dis & the Container Thursday 3 March 2005 PMObservers: Dvorah G. & Drora P. (reporting) A quiet and peaceful shift – “you’d never know there’s a war on”15:20 – Cliff Hotel – There were a few soldiers and some civilians on the roof, the latter seemed to be civilian security-guards. The road to the hotel is paved and the hotel itself is completely fenced off. No one has repaired the broken windows. A few kids were riding their bikes between the houses; they told us that there are very few soldiers around. They, the boys, go to school over the wall, and get there via the nearest openings in the wall. The girl with them goes to school in East Jerusalem and gets there by a school-bus.15:40 – the former Pishpash Gate – We met some young people who stopped to talk with us, they used to own a taxi but since there’s no one to take across, and parking is no longer permitted where they used to, they sold their taxi to West Bank residents and are currently unemployed.There is sparse movement of people through the backyard of the house next to the monastery. The men tell us that inside the monastery yard (at the crossing-point behind the pishpash wall) is a checkpoint that operates from 08:00 to 17:00. The soldiers check IDs and some people are denied passage – if they make their way through the monastery. We didn’t check the site, because the men said the Jeep had left before we arrived. They also informed us who was the commander in the Jeep.16:20 – Sawahre – Things were moving well. We went closer to the concrete barricades in the middle of the road and were smilingly received by the soldier there. He even asked our permission to work rapidly. Then his commander appeared and in a polite, businesslike tone asked us to move away for our own good – so we wouldn’t get run over. We resumed our positions opposite, until we left at 16:45