It was a conscious decision to open this report with the pictures of how the waiting room at the DCO looks at 13.00. Maybe the army thinks to show its  contempt for the Palestinians who have to wait for hours here. What we are seeing is the contempt for their work and for the army in which they serve. One can only hope that their offices at least are tidy.

There were  four cars when we arrived. 

A man who has worked in many parts of Israel now opened a kiosk with coffee, tea, etc. with which he earns about 60 shekel a day.

Shlomit tried to speak to a man who had got a lift here. But he put his head down and said he did not want to talk. She asked if he had been called in by the GSS and he answered yes but did not add anything else. Again we see how even talk is suspicious and we can only be grateful that there is no way…..at the moment,….that thought can be read.

We stopped to help Palestinians to jump start their car and the atmosphere immediately became lighter. A man told us that his 14 year old son had been shot and killed…sorry we mean…neutralized…..   in the early morning on his way to school . We did not ask if he had been given the body. The father has twice been in administrative detention, the first time for a year and the second time, after the start of the  war, 9 months. He went in 105 kilo and left  82 kilo. They get 400, 450 gm. of food, three times a day which consists of  chickpeas, tahini and steamed rice. The food had no salt or sugar in it. He said that dogs get better food. We did not ask if they got vegetables or fruit. He thinks that he was arrested because he had laid a complaint about the soldier who had neutralized his son. The second time it was easier to use the word neutralized. Orwell would have been proud of us 

Don’t forget that the village of Shvut was looted by settlers. Not a single olive was left on the trees, which they didn’t get permission to harvest anyway. 600 trees.
The  owner  of the  minimarket in Beit  Jala said that they were not given permission to harvest their olives. 600 trees. There was not a single olive left on the trees as all had been stolen by the settlers. The same thing happened to friends of ours in Hebron.  The army must have known about this even though their cameras only seem to photograph the Palestinians. So the army aids and abets theft.