SOUTHERN HEBRON HILLS & HEBRONSept. 11, 2007 06:15-11:30 Observers: Anat S., Michal Z., Hagit B. (reporting) Synopsis : Some 500 work hours of Palestinian workers are lost because one woman soldier was asleep. Shuada Street in Hebron is still closed to all Palestinian traffic, despite the ruling by Judge Advocate General Brig. Gen. Avichai Mandelbath that it was ordered closed by mistake.SANSANA CROSSING – MEITAR We arrive at 0620, there’s a queue of some 250 workers waiting. The crossing opened at 4 a.m., so we don’t understand the hold-up. We call Tarik, the deputy commander of headquarters, and the Civil Administration hot line.The calls seem to help a bit; as we crossed to the Palestinian side we saw that more workers were being let through at once. We then saw that only one palm-reading station was operating. We called Tarik again and he promised to deal with the matter. When we returned an hour later the line was still very long, some 100 workers waiting. We decided to go speak to the commander of the checkpoint, who hadn’t answered our phone calls. It turns out the (female) commander (“A”) of the post was asleep when it opened. She refused to let us in, but came out to speak to us. When we asked her why only one station was open, she said she couldn’t speak to us, and she was not the one who decided these matters. So why is she in charge? She has the authority to open more stations, but simply doesn’t care. The Rosh Hashana closure begins Weds. RAMADIN CHECKPOINTIt’s deserted. The soldiers are painting the cement barriers green.HIGHWAY 60There are lots of tractors & cranes working to widen the highway, very little traffic. The turn to Dahariya is blocked with two rows of stones.DURA AL FUARTraffic is flowing, the pillbox is manned.SHEEP CROSSINGThere are no military vehicles. Pedestrians cross the highway.BANI NAIMWe get to the vineyard of Menachem Livni, one of the settlers in the Jewish Underground. He bought this land 30 years ago. It is surrounded by a fence and a yellow gate. The manager claims the army does not protect the area, but on our way back we see the military jeep on patrol.HEBRON[…Jewish 7 Muslim prayer dates for the holidays and Ramadan]GIVAT HARSINAWe stop to drink coffee at the Zaloum family’s house which is the first house next to the Border Police base. The family was celebrating the engagement of their son. (They have received a camera from the B’Tzelem organization.) They complain mainly of harassment of the girls by the soldiers. When we left they told us how important our visit was to them.TEL RUMEIDAThe additional checkpoint on the hill has been dismantled, but there is a structure for the soldiers. Last week there was an alert because of reports of a gang in the area. At the top of the hill there is a pillbox that is permanently manned. MACHSOM TARPADNo problemsSHUADA STREETMany children from a Jerusalem yeshiva are here on a school trip. Two soldiers from the international observer unit are sitting on the side of the road. Two Palestinian women holding their children’s hands are passing through the throng, and their fear of these children is obvious. I accompany them along the side until they reach the Cordova School. A settler woman peering out of a window in Beit Hadassah on the other side of the street shouts at the single soldier on guard below, “Look, there are Palestinian women walking here.” She comes down the stairs and tries to argue with me. The soldier runs after the Palestinian women and stops them, telling them to take an alternative route via the steps. They show him a note saying they are on their way to a doctor’s appointment, but the soldier doesn’t let them pass. Meanwhile, other Jewish women have come down to the street to tell us how dangerous the Palestinian women are. The soldier is unaware of the ruling by the Judge Advocate that the closure of the street was a mistake. He only knows his direct orders from his platoon commanding officer, who suddenly appears on foot patrol. He is also unaware of the decision. Meanwhile, the Palestinian women give up and take the steps. The settler women tried to provoke us but we did not answer. Police officers also show up. They are aware of the ruling that Palestinians are allowed to walk on Shuada Street, if accompanied by a soldier, but say that in the end, the decision rests with the army and the brigade commander. We believe those who really decide are the settlers.THE DISPUTED HOUSEQuiet. The new checkpoint is still there, as is the barbed wire fence that protects the Palestinians’ house. Soldiers are posted on the roof. There is also a cardboard soldier holding a gun (like the ones of traffic police on the roads).The epileptic brother of Bassam, who owns the grocery, is still in prison. His trial is Sunday.ROADS 356 & 317No traffic and very few military vehicles. At the Zif check post, cement blocks have been added, but traffic goes through easily, as it does at the Peni Haver crossing. At Zif we give Azzam clothing for the children.