Abu-Dis, Wadi-NarMonday 19-7-2004 afternoonWatchers: Yael N, and Noah J (reporting) Guest: Anat (photographer), Guy and Reluka A.Abu-Dis, at the Hotel 16:00. Next to the hotel we met a group of kibbutsniks from the “Shomer Hazair Movement” who were looking for a place to hang a large sheet, on which they painted – for peace (they hung it further down, next to the gas station). In the hotel we heard voices, there were border-policemen inside, but we saw no detainees and it did not sound as if there were others inside besides them.We continued to the “pishpash”-gate. As usual: no soldiers, all the time there is movement of climbers over the wall.Wadi Nar, the Copntainer, 17:15. Movement is flowing. A car with yellow license plates arrives from Bethlehem. The 2 young men, inhabitants of Jerusalem, maintain that they passed that morning and nobody told them that passage is forbidden. Papers for inspection. After half an hour they are released with a summons to the police. The young man tore it up and left. An ambulance passes to Bethlehem without examination. From time to time transit-vans are stopped for random checks of papers. The delay is rather short. S., a teacher from Tel-Hader, who knows Machsomwatch and thanked us for our presence in general, said that they had helped him in his school in Tel-Hader, and immediately afterwards said that the soldiers stop transits only when we are present. If we had not been there, they would not have been stopped. Maybe because of our presence there or maybe notwithstanding our presence, they were released quite soon.At the south side of the checkpoint: a transit with yellow license plates stands deserted. A young man, whose aunt owns the transit, wants to take the vehicle away, but the commander of the checkpoint tells him that only when “he brings him” the driver, an inhabitant of the territories who disappeared from the area, he will release the car to him. The young man does not know where the driver disappeared. An ambulance from Bethlehem, without patients or medications and not answering a particular call, simply returning to Ramallah, is detained for a check. But the commander of the checkpoint, explains to us that many of the cupboards are locked and the driver does not have the appropriate key, and until he can check all the cupboards he won’t release the ambulance. After some 15 minutes he is released.There is a water-container, but the tap is disconnected from it. Altogether: the border-policemen are fairly polite. Movement is sparse.18:15 we departed.