Abu-Dis, the Container Tuesday, 02.05.06 p.m.Observers; Julia W., Rahel W. (reporting)There was an unusually high presence of border police today (Yom Hazikaron – Memorial Day) who were stationed at every possible crossing point in the Abu-Dis area.At the pishpash – border police refused to allow anyone, except those with humanitarian cause, including holders of Jerusalem residency to cross at the pishpash. They were told to go to Az-Za’ayyem. (We did not go to Az Za’ayyem so we do not know about crossing procedures there). The b.p.’s were proper enough, but they said that those were their strict orders. We don’t know if this is part of the process of weaning the Palestinians from sites other than Az-Za’ayyem or whether it was because of the holiday.the Container – We went with our driver to the Container. Our driver who is usually quite optimistic spoke to us about his feeling of claustrophobia. If he wants to go to a movie, he must go to Bethlehem. He said that the focal point of Abu-Dis, Al- Ezariya and Sawahre had always been Jerusalem – he knows every street and alley way in the city – and now he is forbidden to set foot there. He is a young man who had been earning a good salary in Jerusalem prior to the Intifada and now he barely scrapes by.Things were quiet at the Container. The border police seemed to be understaffed and as a result, those stationed there were pressed to do several jobs at once. On at least two occasions while we were there, there was no one patrolling the vehicular traffic, lines built up, and the horns started beeping. More cars than usual were pulled over for inspection and there were many fewer workers going through than usual