The road to the checkpoint is
undergoing roadworks, making the traffic even more hazardous than
usual. The atmosphere was very tense and the attitude towards the
Palestinians extremely unpleasant. Immediately upon our arrival we
were told that a “Molotov cocktail” had been thrown at
the military building situated at the edge of the air strip. This
accounted for the soldiers’ nervousness. The pedestrian line from
North to South was fairly long, and movement very slow. Two
soldiers were posted at the entrance to the line. They were amusing
themselves by all kinds of practical jokes. This added to the
general humiliation suffered by the Palestinians at the checkpoint.
Undisturbed heavy pedestrian traffic from South to North. Car
movement was fairly quick and the lines not too long. IDs were
checked by volunteers and soldiers. One shouted constantly and at
everyone. We called for some help, and things seemed to calm down
for a while. The female soldier sent people back with a gesture
reminiscent of other horrible times. Still, we managed to help a
fair number of Palestinians. A transit driver complained that his
car keys had been confiscated. One soldier took the driver aside
and told him – we heard it! – that he should come back in the
evening to get his keys “and you know what you have to
do”!. Our ears burned!! Our attempts to intervene elicited the
usual “lecture” about how the drivers disregard the
safety rules etc. But what we discovered is that the soldiers (who
are posted there off and on for the last 9 months) are demanding
telephone cards, cigarettes and other “goodies” before
they give back the car keys. We heard the same story independently
from many drivers. We told this to the commander, and ten minutes
later, the driver and the car were gone.