Etzion checkpoint, 7.15am. All Palestinians, except for holders of permits to work in Israel and/or settlements, and relatively older people (above 45), are prevented from passing from the Hebron district to the Bethlehem district; buses moving on the Halhul-El Khadr route lose most passengers at Etzion checkpoint, where all those under 45 are ordered to turn back. No officers are present, and there is no higher authority that one can approach. Our appearance at the arena seemed to have worsened the treatment of Palestinians by soldiers: as soon as we set our feet there all passengers that were undergoing ID checks near the parking buses were ordered to stand behind the fence and step forward, one at a time, towards the soldiers, one of whom was pointing his gun in their direction. One after the other they stepped forward, one after another they were kicked away. The procedure is very short: the Palestinian advances slowly showing his ID, the soldier takes a short glance and then nods to his crew members, muttering: “this man is going home”, or just “yallah, home, piss off”. While all in the crowd know that they are about to lose a workday, scheduled appointment, medical treatment, etc., no one raises his voice,no one complains about being forced to stand in the cold in vain, no one makes a move. One man, comments that more than 80% of the Palestinian people are under 45 years of age. Others respond with half a smile half a frown. A 43 year old senior employee at the Bethlehem branch of the Ministry of Social Affairs is turned back to Hebron. As he turns back he recounts memories of a seminar he once (in 2000) attended, which tookplace at Ben-Gurion University. Some 15 meters behind the fence, Hussein, a young Palestinian, is lying on the grass with hands tied behind his back. He is an Israeli citizen,resident of Kseifa in the Negev, who works as a transit driver for an Israeli building company, transporting workers. Hussein was caught in the checkpoint vicinity earlier this morning, ordered off his transit and taken to the checkpoint, where his hands were tied with plastic handcuffs. There were no passengers with him when he was taken and the soldiers never bothered to tell him what offence he committed. During the approximately two hours we spent there, Hussein was left on the ground: every half an hour or so a soldier approached him and tightened the handcuffs. When we left, Hussein was still in the same position, although we had asked Moked to intervene. He called us at 14:00, minutes after his release after 7 hours — no charges filed.Another man, forty something, Mohammad from Hebron, was on his way to Ramallah, where his wife was due to undergo a complicated operation today at the government hospital. Mohammad held all the necessary documents specifying the date and kind of operation, yet the soldiers laughed in his face and sent him away: “there are hospitals in Hebron too”, one of them shouted as the man pleaded again. We could not assist Mohammad beyond contacting the Moked. It is worth reiterating here that all the above-mentioned measures implemented by the army at Etzion checkpoint are illegal, violating not only the international law/conventions, but also the (declared/professed) regulations of the IDF itself.El-Khadr secondary boys’ school. We continued to Husan eastern road blocks, where we left the car and walked to the school. Avoiding the soldiers was practically impossible this morning, given the massive army deployment throughout the entire region. Over tea at the teachers’ room, we were introduced to the mathematics inspector, who was paying a visit. He resides in Nahalin village, home for a long list of teachers, inspectors, administrators, directors, government employees, etc. He tells us that not only the level of students is deteriorating, but also that of teachers, who lose focus,concentration, and motivation. The Headmaster comes up with recent news: the soldiers are now demanding that the school appoint guards to patrol the courtyard and internal passages and warn the soldiers of anystone throwing attempts on part of the pupils. As we are about to leave, an entire unit, including commander and sub-commander, and some ten soldiers, escorted by four jeeps, have come to our rescue. We have just committed an illegal act, the commander (a major) tells us. We withdraw until next time.