Hebron, Sansana (Meitar Crossing), South Hebron Hills, Sun 18.3.12, Morning
Translator: Charles K.
Meitar crossing
All the congestion is in the parking lot on the Israeli side; there are no laborers on the Palestinian side. More and more cars arrive to park there.
Highway 60
All the crossings are open and quiet, children peacefully walk to school along the road. A military vehicle watches the entrance to Bani Na’im.
Hebron
Soldiers from the Kfir battalion have come to do guard duty in the city. There are more of them at all the positions than we’ve been used to. Two of the international volunteers at the beginning of Shuhadah Street tell us that they’re not carrying out inspections very strictly.
They are, in fact, letting the children and teachers through quickly at the Pharmacy and the Tarpa”t checkpoints.
TIP soldiers stand by the checkpoints in triplet formation, their cars parked along the street.
One soldier at the post opposite Beit Hadassah carefully pats down every young man coming by; meanwhile, his colleagues check ID’s with the Civil Administration. We stop to talk with the soldiers, and Anat Cohen quickly arrives, orders the soldiers to send us packing – and spews pearls at us.
The police armored vehicle arrives to find out who we are and tells us we’re not allowed to stand here because it’s a military position. It turns out that what he means is that the entire street is a military position; he actually chases us away and follows us down to the market. Anat, of course, is allowed to enter a military position. All of the residents of Beit Aharonson come out to their cars just as we pass by, and shower curses at us, telling us “get out of here.” It feels as if the extremism is only growing more pointed.
So we got out of there, sensing the violence accompanying the bitter cold we felt everywhere in the City of the Patriarchs.
We drove back via Zif junction, Ma’on and Carmel – it was peacefully quiet and green.