Abu Dis, ContainerTue. 03.05.05 p.m.Observers: Chana G., Rina H., Rahel W.We went by the old pishpash (where there were border police checking people climbing over the wall, but not those coming via the monastery) to the Cliff Hotel. There have been no changes in the area over the past few weeks, but the place is more neglected and the surroundings increasingly overgrown.We returned to the monastery and crossed over to the other side. We noticed that the two parts of the wall are close to meeting opposite Al Quds. As our driver said, pretty soon we won’t be able to see Jerusalem and we won’t even be able to breathe its air. Traffic at the Container moved very quickly and efficiently. About every 7th or 8th vehicle was checked, but the border police worked quietly and well. Fares from the border police stopped by to pick up the DCO representative and he asked us how things were going. When we returned to the Israeli side of the pishpash, there was an argument going on between two drivers (whose keys and IDs had been taken) and the border police stationed there. One of the drivers said that he had just stopped for a minute to drop off his child and the other was unloading goods.We tried to intercede with the soldiers about why they were so harsh with these drivers and why they were so lacking in understanding and flexibility. We got the impression that they themselves were somewhat embarrassed by the meanness and meaninglessness of harrassing these drivers. However, the blue police had already been called to issue tickets. When they arrived, we tried to reason with them saying that the behavior was cruel and unnecessarily harsh. The policewoman responded that what was cruel and harsh was the murder of 6 million Jews in the Shoah. At that point, Chana, who was raised in Germany and experienced the evil of the Shoah every day of her life screamed at the policewoman “don’t you dare raise the issue of the Shoah to justify your behavior”. The policewoman was taken aback, and while trying to maintain a “I couldn’t care less about what you think” attitude, she was duly shaken by Chana’s scream of outrage.The BP colonel ended up writing out a ticket for one of the “offenders’ but not the other. He himself appeared to be embarrassed by the whole scenario. I am sure that had we arrived a few minutes earlier, both the drivers would have gotten off with a warning, but by the time we arrived, the damage had already been done. They were all victims of an untenable situation whereby impossible conditions are established and it is the job of the BP to enforce these regulations. As one of the border police himself acknowledged, “we are all victims of the governmental policies. Only a change of the policies will change the conditions”.