South Hebron, AM

South HebronWednesday morning, 7 July 2004 Observers: Leah Y., Hagit B. [reporting: Hebrew], Zafrira [reporting: English] We left Tel Shoket at 8 AM and returned at 10:30 AM.We took our usual route. The regular army soldiers [i.e. not recruits] has returned to the area and some of their men were at the Shaama barrier. Apart from that, there were no soldiers at the other barriers – Dura – Al Fawwar, Sheep crossing, Shiyyuch, Hebron or el Jura. The “humanitarian” barrier [for expedited cases, e.g. medical needs] at Hebron was closed, but there were soldiers in the observation tower.Halhul-Hebron bridge: open to traffic. No army vehicles on the Sa’ir-Hebron, Yatta, or Carmel-Maon roads, but all the observation towers were manned. "Big Brother is watching you".Very little Palestinian traffic on the roads. We got the impression that the barriers along the roads have been increased in height and width by earthworks and large square stone blocks. Instead of motor vehicles, there were a fair number of donkey carts carrying goods.The barrier between Sa’ir and Halhul is open and taxis can cross Hwy #60. Dirt roads to Samoa and to Shayyuch are open. The Northern barrier to Yatta is open, but the barrier between the village of Atuwani and Yatta has been strengthened; this was the only way that the residents could reach Yatta. There seems no rhyme or reason for opening some barriers and closing others. (Maybe to drive people crazy?)On Hwy #356, a little east of Yatta, we came across a group of soldiers manning a checkpoint under inhumane conditions. Hamsin today [hot, dry weather conditions] - their food was lying in the sun, they wore no hats and they were trying to build a makeshift screen against the sun by unsuccessfully inserting posts into the stone ground upon which to hang a cover. These young soldiers could easily become bored and exhausted and take out their frustration on some passing Palestinian.We tried to get to the DCO [IDF Civil Administration office, that issues passage permits] but were unable to do so - a walk of 30-45 mins each way in the blazing heat, was beyond our abilities. All the roads to the DCO are in Area A. We have to get a permit from Central Command to cross. Alex, the commander of the DCO, has suggested that he will arrange this permit for us - possibly by next week.