Abu-Dis, The ContainerThursday, 24.08.2006, AM (06:30-10:15)Observers: Hanna B., Tamar A. (reporting)Abu-Dis Wall and the Pishpash: 06:50-07:15 – Near the wall whose last cracks are being sealed we find a Border Policeman and a female soldier. There is digging on the way between the main road and the Pishpash – preparations for continuation of the wall? A ditch has been dug also in the garden of the monastery, marking exactly the route of the fence between the Passionists’ Monastery, which will remain on the Jerusalem side, and the nunnery and its school which will be on the other side. No one seeks to cross at the Pishpash, or even approach it. A BP officer describes it thus: “There’s less friction here.”Zeitim CP: 07:25-07:40 – Few cross, 9 in the course of 10 minutes. One checking station is open, the men as usual are required to remove their belts. Checking time: 3 minutes. Some of the men who work in a medical centre close to the Pishpash ask whether it’s possible to arrange for them to cross at the shorter route, through the Pishpash. The reply of course is negative; that was why the Zeitim CP was built.The CP at the entrance to Al-Ezariya: 07:50-08:05 – A BP jeep on the road. A policeman and a policewoman check mainly transits and buses, not private vehicles. Some are detained for a few minutes for ID checks at the computer. While the policemen enter the bus, the rest of the vehicles cross unchecked.We drove to the The Container through Al-Ezariya and Sawahre, and saw the difference between the abandoned checkpoints and the lively traffic inside the villages.The Container: 08:35-09:30 – When we arrived there was a line of about 8 vehicles from both directions, but then suddenly they were allowed to cross quickly with almost no checks; traffic flowed, and there were moments when the CP was empty. A few vehicles were stopped to check documents – 2 in the direction of Al-Ezariya, and 11 in the direction of Bethlehem – detention lasting between 10 and 45 minutes (perhaps longer: some had been detained before our arrival, and others were still detained when we left). Each time when the check was concluded one of the passengers was called to come up to the soldiers and collect the pile of documents.the entrance to Al-Ezariya: 09:55 – Two blue police vans.Az-Za’ayyem CP: 10:00 – Traffic flowing.