South Hebron, Wednesday 27.4.05, AMObservers: Anat Sh, Elena L (reporting in English), Tzafrira A, Hagit B (Reporting in Hebrew)Guests: Noa T, Aya BWe set out at 7:45 – and returned at 11:00On the basis of rumours nad stories abour flying roadblocks near Kibbutz Cramim we turned left off route 60 towards Sansana-the road is good and Sansana is yet another place under the aegis of the South Hebron hills regional council. We didn’t see the blue police patrol or that of the BP.Sansana CP – manned by BP soldiers. No detainees. All the dirt barriers along route 60 as far as the tunn-off too route 317 are still in place.Route 317: fresh dirt barriers as far as the CP at the turn off to Livneh and Shani. The bulldozers which are beginning to work on the separation wall can be seen from afar. There is almost no traffic at all on the road- on both sides of the road there are families harvesting in small plots-women use the sickle. Today there is a strike in Palestinian schools and the children are with the families in the fields.The CP at the turn-off to Livneh-two Palestinian cars have been detained there. In one of the cars is an old man and a boy as well as the driver and in the other there is only the driver. The cars are loaded with fig leaves, boxes of new shoes, new bikes; the drivers say they are on their way to Na’alin – a nearby village. The soldiers were shouting at the Palestinians and as soon as we arrived their tone changed- the soldiers belong the Lavi regiment which has returned to the area and the base near the CP is decorated with the posters of August 2004 company. The cars had fake Israeli license plates and one of the drivers had a forged ID. The other driver has an orange ID which had been taken from him to be checked .It is returned while we were there- but he too is not allowed to drive on because he had no permit. The soldiers had told the Palestinians to unpack the merchandise on the ground and the soldiers then check each bundle and box. The soldiers provide a screwdriver and the Palestinian who had the forged ID is told to unscrew his license plates –his pleas about bureaucratic difficulties in transferring ownership of the car fall on deaf ears. The car looks so old that it is possible that it is not stolen but is being used in a simple desire to survive – The Palestinian says in good Hebrew again and again to the soldiers: How shall I bring food to my children?” The Palestinians tell us they come from Yatta and it is in the direction of Yatta that they are both made to return (minus the license plates). We merely stand and watch in order to see that there is no abusive behavior on the part of the soldiers-we don’t try to phone higher authorities since it seems clear to us that after the discovery of the false license plates and also because the drivers had dared to use the apartheid road, no intervention of ours would help. Anat talks to the soldiers about how the drivers (like 99% of the Palestinians that are “caught”) only wanted to scrape a living in an impossible situation, which is not of the soldiers’ making, and about the discretion they could nevertheless exercise-She is very persuasive and Elena overhears the CO say softly at the end “I agree”. Let’s hope it helps.Between the two CPs there is a flying roadblock set up by Lavi soldiers- we are allowed to pass and we fail to fathom the reason for the roadblock –there is no traffic at all on the road.The CP at the turn–off to Arad. It is manned by Lavi soldiers . There are no detainees.Chirbet Tawani- today ther is a school strike and so there is no escort for the ds. S’ invites us to drink tea and asks our help in approaching the Civil Administration in order to get a permit for a high tension electric cable. At the moment the village only has electricity from generators 6 hours a day. This morning they are waiting for a visit from the Palestinian ministers of Health, Agriculture and the Environment –who are coming to inspect the scene of the poisoning of the cisterns and of the pastures. Route 356 – The gate to Yatta is open and the harvest on both sides of the road is in full swing.Route 60 – all the turn-offs to Hebron are blocked. At the Shiyukh- Sair crossing, just before we arrived, a bulldozer had come and had almost sealed off the crossing. Pedestrians once again have to climb over obstacles to pass through. Why? Why not leave a path for people to pass comfortably?Route 35 – the humanitarian Cp is closed as usual.Halhul bridge – there are signs indicating the loss of two young lives –the Palestinian who was a 28 year old cab driver and the reserve soldier who was 23. What happened is that at 10 pm two days ago the soldiers in the pillbox on the bridge were ordered to set up a flying roadblock- Usually traffic crosses the bridge very fast – the taxi driver, who didn’t expect a traffic block there, apparently got confused and stepped on the gas instead of on the brakes. The soldier was afraid for his life and shot him. The soldiers in the pillbox were quick to shoot too and they killed both of them. What fear and a stupid flying road block can do!Sheep’s Crossing – Passage is free. Dura al –Fawwar crossing: Passage is free. Dahariya and Samoa are blocked as usual.The routine of conquest continues.