Abu-Dis, Sheikh Saed Monday, 16.10.2006, PMObservers: Judy A, Noa A. I. (reporter)Sheikh Saed – We arrived around 15:15, the place was quite deserted. It is true that there is no wall, but the present fencing is not at all open. The fence, and in it’s environment barbed wire that “secure” the meters around. At the crossing itself, the barbed wire leaves a space that is too small for crossing. The soldiers are quite bored. In the grocery store they tell us how difficult it is. If someone has a heart attack, he has no possibility of reaching the doctor in time, the best he can do is get to the clinic in Al Ezariya via a dangerous road. The soldiers do not permit anyone to cross to the hospital in any circumstance. From there we continued to the checkpoint at the southwest side of Sawahre , at the exit from Jabel Mukaber.Sawahre – Another checkpoint that makes life difficult for the population. No taxis from it or to it, so whoever manages to get to the Sawahre side and crosses to the direction of Jerusalem (of course there is no passage for cars), has to walk a few kilometers to a place from where one can get transportation. There are a few detainees. A soldier writes a long report for one of them. Very long, he writes for half an hour. At the end, they give him a stamp, after another detainee translates for him the main parts of his statement, because none of the soldiers speak Arabic. The soldier wants to pat him on the shoulder in a chummy way, and the boy crumples immediately: “what are you afraid of, ciao”.Abu-Dis – Empty. Only the old Pishpash is still working. Actually, no one can cross here. There are soldiers. Around El Mukassad there is a commotion of the last minutes before the end of the fast. People with trays full of baklawa, everyone is hurrying. A worker from the El Mukassad hospital tells us that almost every day there is a problem with workers who have permits. A soldier who decides that the permit does not meet his approval does not let him cross at the checkpoint. They call straight to the Liaison and Coordination Administration in Bet-el. Sometimes it helps, sometimes not.Darkness falls early. We returned.