South Hebron and Hebron , Thursday, 18/01/2007 amObservers: Michal Ts, Hagit B (reporting)SummaryThere is no easing of the situation at the checkpoints, not a single barrier has been removed, in fact, the opposite is true, there are new barriers and the bulldozers do not stop working.Sansana checkpoint-Meitar crossingAt 08:30 , the only people at the checkpoint were border policemen. Ramadin CheckpointThe border police offer us tea. They know all the residents from Ramadin who they permit to cross without inspection. Anyone else, ie people from Dahariya or from anywhere outside Ramadin, are not permitted to cross – the soldier states that this is for the benefit of residents of Ramadin. Dahariya The road has a checkpoint as usual, four soldiers wander around at the sides of the road – like a patrol. Our driver, A, says that they ambush taxi drivers there, drivers who want to enter Dahariya or collect passengers who have just alighted, the back to back system – and they confiscate the drivers’ keys. In fact, we have been caught there a number of times with that situation going on. Today it did not happen. On our way back, an Israeli truck was unloading tires and bringing its load to a Palestinian truck. An Army jeep stood alongside and every person’s ID was taken for inspection. One soldier was particularly busy with making sure that photos taken by a young Palestinian who was wandering with his mobile phone were deleted. After the pictures were deleted, the phone was handed back to the youth. It seems that IDs will also be returned quickly to the detainees, until the unloading is finished. We thought it was very odd – these business deals that sometimes happen with Israeli merchants dealing in used goods. Samua, Deir Razah, Qilqlis – bulldozers have been busy and there are even more checkpoints than there were. Dura al Fuar – Traffic was flowing and the pillbox was manned. Sheep Crossing – there is a temporary checkpoint inside the area where people cross. The soldiers do not detain anyone and are busy laughing. Wonderful fun but why do they have to be there at all. A Givati regiment arrived to judge us, and they said that what we want is that they should have a good life here in contrast to what is happening in Gaza .Shiuch – Hebron: pedestrians are crossing over Route 60 and there is no military presence. HebronBecause of the demonstration of “Peace Now” that was scheduled to take place in Hebron , there was a stronger police and army presence. They let us enter without any problems once they saw that there were only two of us. We joined the tour with Member of Knesset, Amira Dotan, where there were representatives of “Betselem”, “Break the Silence” and “Peace Now”, “Children of Abraham” and ourselves. I thanked Amira on the way she had helped a father of a child suffering from cancer to enter Israel . Yehuda from “Breaking the Silence” was the person doing most of the explaining. For part of the way I was in the car with Amira Dotan’s Parliamentary aide, a young man who asked whether it is frightening here? And where are the Palestinian snipers hiding? It’s appalling the way the citizens here are demonized…I had to tap into my own resources of tolerance and explain to him that indeed terrible things do happen here – to the Palestinians and not to the settlers. If there are any outcomes from this visit, only time will tell. She was sincerely wanting to be updated and that is very important – her main focus of interest is on solutions to humanitarian problems rather than the overall policy. Givat HaCharsinaThe neighborhood of Givat HaCharsina is between the two hilltops of Kiryat Arba. There are about 50 families in the neighborhood and they are not able to reach their homes by car. The eastern side of the neighborhood is borders on an army base. Kiryat Arba is surrounded by a wire barrier and for the residents of the neighborhood there is a narrow path that they can use alongside the wire fence. They are continually harassed by the families who live in Kiryat Arba. In the northern section of Kiryat Arba, situated between the houses of the settlers, is a border police base and alongside that is a checkpoint especially for inspecting the Palestinian residents of the neighborhood as they leave and enter. “Betselem” has a project to donate cameras to Palestinian families. We visited one of the families living there and connected them to the people from “Betselem”. Now there is the possibility of documenting, the harassment might get less. Only time will tell. We suggest that MWatch shifts in Hebron monitor what is happening at this checkpoint.Machpela Cave Checkpoint More border police have been enlisted here to cope with inspections of women.Shuhaida Street – alongside the steps to Cordova SchoolA group of Palestinian youths was coming down the street just as the Nachal soldiers were doing their military exercises, each of them with his gun drawn. What is this supposed to be? An army game in a civilian town. This terrible mix leaves one heavy hearted. (at this point we parted from Amira).Pharmacy CheckpointThere are some photos attached to this report. Please refer to them. They have brought a woman soldier to the checkpoint and now all the women crossing undergo an inspection – with babies in their arms, each time they go out of their own homes. So this is supposed to be an easing up at the checkpoints?This checkpoint is totally absurd because it is not anywhere near any home of a settler – and in fact, near the settlers’ homes there more checkpoints. Why don’t they just demolish it?All along the Hebron apartheid road are army jeeps – and army foot patrols. Today there are more than ever. We have no idea why. We traveled to Jura checkpoint – the humanitarian checkpoint – and for a few moments at the junction we joined the demonstration of “Peace Now”, and then we went home. The routine of the occupation is particularly annoying because all the time the lies are more blatant. The word is “easing” and I definitely am convinced that all of these checkpoints are contributing absolutely nothing to security. They only increase the hatred.