Southern Hebron/h3>Tuesday morning, 19 October 2004 Observers: Hagit B. , Leah Y (reporting in English)We left the Shoqet junction at 6:45 and returned, 9:45Summary: Encirclement [passage prohibition] lifted -yet, not much traffic – route 60, 35, 356, 317 still restricted for settlers only; cars with yellow [Israeli] license plates allowed there. Schoolchildren in uniform walking to school. On route 60, very few yellow taxis — we caught sight of the lorry loaded with stone blocks. On route 356 we passed the jeep with its bulldozer that makes the earthworks mounds and renews hillocks, to prevent crossing the road. All pillboxes were manned.Sensana Junction: Border Police;Dura – al-Fawwar: cars and taxis cross route 60, no soldiers; Shepherd’s Junction: pedestrians crossing… Shiyuh – Hebron: traffic whizzing by very fast – dangerous for the kids who have to cross the road on their way to school -our letters of complaint haven’t helped; the schoolgirls were still afraid when Hagit offered to help them cross over. No soldiers. One teacher advised us to stop smoking if we wish to respect Palestinians, as smoking is forbidden during Ramadan.Reminder to MachsomWatch: No Smoking During Ramadan!Sair- Halhul: freely-flowing traffic into Halhul…Al-Jura Roadblock – Junction 35 – 60 — The “Humanitarian” Roadblock [for expediting medical and special needs cases]: No cars, the gate is closed. The soldiers on the Pillbox have the key…Halhul – Hebron Bridge: Free traffic on the bridge; and even the entrance from route 35 is open…Idna Roadblock: the gate is open, a lot of army vehicles exiting. A friendly and unexpected meeting with Motti, the Hebron C.O. He talked to Hagit for 15 minutes about the problem with the children from Hirbat Tawani – no proper solution as yet – at least, not according to policy logic: he said it is important to protect Israeli citizens (i.e. settlers), and the issues are being addressed. We continued in the direction of Beit Awa through Idna Village, wherewe sensed unrest: it was 8:30, crowds of children were roaming the streets and there were stones on the road in front of us (perhaps previously thrown at army vehicles). Our driver, I’, had heard on the news that 10 people had been arrested in Dura, during the night – so maybe this was the reason for the tension. Hagit called the Beit Awa Municipality and explained why we weren’t coming. Suddenly stones were flying (the MachsomWatch flag didn’t deter the crowd; a stone hit the roof of our car – no damage…Zif Junction: the gate was open, a car passed through…Assam – Yakinton Roadblock being taken down: a big lorry with a crane and soldiers busily dismantling – the Pillbox remaining in place…Hirbat – Tawani: we drove to the school, where two teachers told us that the father and children from Umm Tuba now prefer taking the long way to school, 2 hours instead of 1-1/2 – the main point being to avoid the settlers in the woods, who yesterday just “happened” to throw stones and unleashed their dogs as the children passed – while the army did nothing… As we left the village, we saw a new roadblock – no traffic, no delays…Route 316 – 317 Junction, and at the turning into Shani and Mahane Yattir: roadblocks manned by soldiers who seemed bored…Apart from all that, nothing has changed.