Building for themselves  and destroying the homes of the Palestinians.

To the length of road 60 are blockages and barricades without soldiers manning them and allowing of opening according to discretion. This makes the people’s lives even more difficult.

At the turn of the road next to the Meitar checkpoint there is a new sign: A house just as you would want at  the Mesuah hill which is at Susiya. Promising quality of building, a warm community and quietness of spirit. (This is the  way when one lives at the expense of the neighbours and reality.

We go a bit further and at the entrance to Samoah there is a dirt and stone barricade which enforces back to back both to people and to commodities.

Also at  the entrance to Simiah not far from there this is also so at the other side of the road is also blocked.

We continue and at Carma a blockage of stone and cement barriers and people  waiting  on  both sides. A man runs to me and it is important to him to tell me about the long way they have to drive around to make various arrangements or to the hospital in Hebron or to return. 

The entrance to Dahariya is blocked.

The entrance to Avda is blocked. A car which attempts to pass over the mountains  of dust gets stuck and digs in.

The entrance to Dir Razah is blocked. Goods are transported back to back.

Next to the spring a man with a donkey is filling plastic bottles with water as if he is in the deserts of Afghanistan.

At the checkpoint of Dura-al Fawwar the yellow bars are closed. Also at Dura and also at Fawwar.

The  crossroads on top  of the sheep crossisng is open but the entrance to Hebron through the industrial area is closed.

Hebron

On the ruins of the synagogue Hazon Davied, there is a kiosk made of tarpaulin and the soldiers are on guard even though there are no Jews to be seen.

Next to the prayer route next to the Cave of the Patriarchs there is a crowd with a settler, soldiers and police.

It seems that I.G. has been given a permit  from the municipality of Hebron to build a second floor to his home…the settler Chaim has called in the army. He says as one who knows the law, that is forbidden  to all who live there, to add on another floor because of security reasons and the permit is not sufficient.

The soldiers and the commander seem embarrassed .  No one has trained  them to carry out such laws. So Chaim orders them around. He at once photographs me and I photograph him photographing me. He is quiet and polite and explains to me how good life is for all and how many friends there are amongst the Jews and the Palestinians. Only the authorities  cause problems.

In that case why is the army necessary here I ask. Because the authorities cause problems they kill nus and we do not kill. We only want peace, he replies. Maybe you should disguise yourself as an  Arab I suggest. Go around Hebron for a month and then come and tell me how good it is to be an  Arab in Hebron. I don’t need to do so he says. I owe very well what the life  and the reality is here.

I phone Hanna  Barag because I can not get hold of Muhannad of Yesh din. Hanna promises to be in touch with him. In the meantime the soldier also tries to explain to I. that he is not allowed  to continue building and the soldiers prevent it. I. says that he is a witness  at the trial of Elor Azariah and since then his traders’ permit had been taken from him for two months, Not that is has been returned to him the problems have started with building his second story.  After a long time we leave. We do not know what happened afterwards. The family needs to be accompanied.

We went back through road 317. There everything seems quiet.

But  the entrance to Yatta and at the checkpoint of Zif is blocked and barricaded  also to back to back. People including women, children and the old  drag their parcels and wait for cars to arrived from the other side.