Abu DisFriday 17.12.04 AM watchers: Naama Sh, Rita M. (reporting)8:30: Container/Sawahre: not much traffic, the BP – a man and a woman on the team that checked the cars coming from Bethlehem – said that earlier in the morning there were more cars. They would take a number of IDs from passengers of a particular taxi, ask the taxi to wait on the side while the woman wrote down the names and numbers on a form – she did not make any phone calls to check – and then in less than five minutes, the IDs would be returned. We had the impression that if she had too large a bunch of documents to process, he would let all the next vehicles pass freely, until she was free to process another bunch, and then he would again take the IDs and ask the taxi to wait on the side, etc, etc. This went on in a rather friendly way – very routine – no machoistic show of power – as if everyone knew their roles and they acted them out matter of factly – the taxis waiting obediently to be called to the checkpoint, going to stand on the side, while the woman soldier filled her forms, routinely. She did not know why this was necessary (and neither did we.) We had the feeling that she had been ordered to show her superiors that she could fill up a certain number of forms during her shift and she did it dutifully. And we stood there, in our roles as observers, watching the performance, which regretfully, is not a theater show.... 9:45 at the Pishpash: Palestinians are going over the convent wall – still broken, (not as reported earlier this week, it has not been fixed) only the concrete blocks used as stepping stones were moved up a meter or two from the corner of the yard.No BP in sight though we were told they had been there earlier this morning, and had made a big fuss with the transits – that are no longer allowed to be seen at that intersection – they were all fined for driving an unregistered taxi illegally. Instead, the small buses were seen standing where the transits used to stand, in a neat long line on the slope down the hill towards the gas station, whereas the other road sloping down (where buses used to stand) was blocked by a pile of stones. Thus the intersection is kept open as an accessroad for the BP. jeeps. we walk to the Cliff Hotel – it seems deserted of BP – there is barbed wired wrapped around the entire building, over its windows, as if the building is wrapped up as a present…. back at the Pishpash – still no BP. One man said that he was sent back by a flying roadblock near Ras El Amoud – but we had to leave at 10:30 via the Mt of Olives, and so were not able to check up on that.In other words, everytime we assume that Palestinians are allowed to go freely at the pishpash, there are other ambushes on the road towards Jerusalem.