Abu-Dis, The Container23.03.2005, AMObservers: Tamar L., Nava A. (reporting) – Happy Purim – closure until SundayThe road to the hotel is damaged – it seems many heavy trucks carrying military reinforced concrete have passed through. Tamar saw for the first time the wall surrounding Moskovitz Hill and the “Kidmat Zion” settlement. I ask myself yet again – who is in fact paying for the 24-hour “private guard” for each of these two houses.We returned to the gas station and ascended to the edge of the wall, to the spot where people cross over the fence at the edge of the iron gate. Two border-policemen stood there and prevented West Bank residents from entering Jerusalem – Purim closure. One of the policemen, a strange bird, a smiling boy exuding sympathy and camaraderie, tried to banter with the Palestinians prohibited crossing. He appears to be unaware that there is no response to his efforts to raise their morale. “Never mind, you’ve gained a day’s holiday, I’d give anything to have a day’s holiday” he says to the man who wishes to get to work on the other side of the wall. I felt terrible hearing this. The boy in uniform seems unable to understand the gravity of poverty. The disappointment and humiliation on the Palestinian side.Children and owners of blue ID’s pass unobstructed, and the policeman even helped the little ones to jump down from the fence. To a woman with 4 little children and a baby he explained that “you can’t cross but this big girl [an 11-year-old stranger] can take your children to their school.” The woman was not persuaded, saying the girl probably studies in a different school, and the baby needs to see a doctor. With the humanitarian argument, she was immediately allowed to cross.A man of about 35, an invalid with a visibly serious leg injury who needs a daily injection at the hospital across the wall, did not have a referral to the clinic. (He pays NIS 150 for each injection, and must complete the series in a regulated fashion.) The policeman passed the matter on to the office in a passing jeep, and was refused. The man lingers to speak to us across the grid, and meanwhile another officer arrives. The policeman refers the matter to him, and this time the man is allowed to cross. The marvels of Israeli bureaucracy.We continued to the Pishpash. A single policeman checked documents, we did not witness any refusals, and continued to The container.The Container – While still in Abu-Dis we had a phone call from Ruthi asking us to check out the penalizing of blue ID owners arriving from Bethlehem. The officer at the checkpoint said he hands them a summons to the police where they are penalized for “breach of the commander’s order” and entry into a Palestinian-ruled area. I asked about the rumours that he issues a fine of NIS 1000 and he insisted that he does not hand out penalties, only summons to the police, but it’s possible that there they are fined steeply.A loaded minubus headed for Jericho is parked on the side. Some 10 minutes later the bus is released after one of the “doubtful” passengers has been checked. It turns right, to the Kedar settlement road.Shortly after, two buses loaded with women and children on their way for a holiday outing in Jericho are stopped. 4 women are taken off the bus. Two had forgotten their ID’s at home. The driver wanted us to intervene and persuade the soldiers but we didn’t think we’d be able to help – perhaps our intervention would even make matters worse. The truth is that I wondered how it was possible, after 4 years of detentions and humiliations there are still Palestinians who simply “forget” their documents at home. It’s like arriving at the airport without your passport. Our non-intervention helped, and the women returned to the bus after a few minutes. I asked the driver to explain to them that they may well be taken off the bus again at the Jericho CP, but the expectation of a fun day was stronger than the fear. The other two women had blue ID’s. The soldiers told us that nothing would happen to them except a summons to the police and then they would be released.An angry female soldier who thought we were complaining about her came to request justice from the commander: “I did nothing wrong; how can I work like this? They ridicule all the time, and pass the ID’s from one to the other, I can’t work like this…”A DCO soldier we know from Kalandia, A. I think (a handsome Russian boy who speaks fluent Arabic), was called to deal with the matter. The women looked frightened but were told that nothing would happen – only a summons to the police after which they can leave. One of them was released with tears in her eyes when she heard of the fine, at least NIS 1000. We asked a young woman who spoke some English to explain to the two that they might be stopped at the entrance to Jericho, and offered to drive them to Jerusalem, but like the previous two they preferred the possibility of their fun day over the apprehension of what might transpire late. Perhaps that’s the right choice – to deal with each problem as it arises, rather than anticipate future problems before they have occurred.The two buses continued on their way to the brief holiday.