Hebron, South Hebron Hills, Tue 18.1.11, Morning
Translator: Charles K.
Meytar-Sansana crossing
06:45. All the laborers have already crossed to Israel. One bus waits for relatives of prisoners. The truck parking lot is crowded. Many Border Police soldiers are also waiting in their vehicles.
Route 60
Relatively few vehicles today on the road. They drive so carelessly it’s frightening, particularly because many children of all ages walk along the roadside (end-of-trimester exams are underway). We don’t see any army personnel, and there are no flying checkpoints for a change. Everyone’s holed up in pillboxes, probably because it’s cold, cold.
Only at the entrance to Bani Na’im is there an army jeep.
Hebron
Work on the fancy pavement at the entrance to the city of the patriarchs is nearing completion.
On the hill to the right – the Mitzpe Avichai outpost is still full of life.
The Modi’in Ezrachi [private security company) guard at the city’s entrance asks for IDs; he keeps M.’s, our driver, for additional inspection. “Why?” we ask. “Everyone gets checked,” he says. “So why did you give ours back, but not M’s?“ "Because I decide who to check” he answers wickedly, not bothered by the inconsistency he’s just uttered.
The city is filled with children; all their holding is a notebook. All are on their way to exams. None of the soldiers at any of the checkpoints detain anyone.
A cold wind blows, but doesn’t get rid of the occupation and the evil. They’re deeply rooted in this earth.
The soldiers, from Giv’ati, are bundled up. They wave to us amiably (their preparatory training for their stint in Hebron seems to have been done well…).
The CPT members at the Pharmacy Checkpoint tell us all’s calm today, but all day yesterday all the young people were detained and asked for their IDs. Some even were made to wait a long time. “Lords of the land” drive so fast through the curve at the Pharmacy checkpoint that it's frightening. They don’t care if children are walking to school. They’re not Jews – so what difference does it make?
One good thing about Hebron – the pita!