'Azzun 'Atma, Wed 6.5.09, Afternoon

17.11 Azzun Atma

The workers are coming back to the village after a day of work in Israel. We asked to go into the village but were refused because it is a closed army area. We were told that we could call any of the taxi drivers with whom we wanted to speak. Racheli said that we did not want the army to represent us and that with their arms and that we did not need them to protect us. The answer we got was that the weapons were to protect the soldiers. The drivers say to Racheli that they did not want to speak to us because they are scared to do so. They only tell us that Captain S. took a woman who tried to cross the road through an opening in the fence so as to meet a man to whom she is engaged and who lived in Israel. They say that the soldiers delay the exit. For example cancer sufferers with a permit and going for treatment are delayed and they say that it take a lot of time for the patients to get to hospital in Israel. Sometimes up to half an hour delay even when it is urgent.