South Hebron

Sout Hebron, January 26, 2005, morningWatching: Haya H., Leah Sh., (reporting)We left Shoket Junction at 6:30. Notes: 1) All security men today were polite, efficient, nice to us. 2) “No soldiers” means “none visible”, the pillboxes are manned of course.6:50, before Sansana: Border Police stops a car with Israeli license plate en route to work in Israel, checks papers of passengers, lets thm go. Sansana Blockade: 2 transit cars with workers are held up, soldier argues with one worker – he has a work permit but forgot his card at home. Finally soldier gets the blockade commander, who lets the man go. In the other direction, a car with Israeli Bedouins and one foreign worker from Jordan (!), checked on their way to work in Soussia, where Palestininas apparently are not employed… While passing by Mitzpe Eshtamo’a, I recall that settlers there told me once that one Shabbat a Palestinian one woman ran towards them up the hill. They finally found someone to translate for them: she was in flight from an imposed marriage and violence – to the Jews… They tried to locate Plestinian welfare authorities for her.Ottni’el: The head of the yeshiva there, Rabbi Re’em haCohen, is brother of General Gershon haCohen, nominated to be in charge of the Disengagement in Gaza.7:20, Dura / el-Fawar junction: The gate is open, people and cars pass freely, kids on way to school. Blockade on the el-Fawar side, soldiers check papers and allow passage, Palestinian taxis not stopped for checking even.7:30, Sheep Junction: no soldiers, free passage of people and donkeys, not cars. A woman points at the disgusting dirt underfoot and complains, why isn’t this fixed.The mayor of Halat a-Dar east of the road (population 5,000) approaches us in English: the regional Coordination Office told him that land there will be confiscated soon, so that road 60 can be moved east in this area. He shows us Othoman ownership papers of land, talks about their appeal to the Supreme Court, we promised to look into this.7:50 – 8:30:Shayuch, Road 35 and its bridges, Idna, Sa’ir, Zif – no soldiers, free passage of people and cars.8:55, after Soussia, the turn to the south towards Yatir / Amassa / Arad: blockade and very busy soldiers. Palestinians who don’t get work permits try to get through in roundabout dirt roads, get caught by soldiers, the papers of two or three in every transit get taken for checking, men and cars are brought to this blockade and end up waiting for hours, at night too. Soldiers give them water and even food, “what, aren’t we human beings?”, and wait for orders from above. While we were there indeed some papers came back and men released. Palestinians confirm that the soldiers are ok, “do their work, what can they do”, demand a solution from government, admit that this is a recurring scene in their lives, “I need work, what can I do, go steal? So one day I work in a week maybe”. All participate in this Sysiphian theater. Of the 30 men there were 8 kids aged 10-15, not in school “because they too must work”.9:30: Yatir blockade, very impressive, security vehicles, no Palestinians held up.9:40: Out through the Sansana blockade, Israeli police checks cars with passenges looking visibly Arabs, gesture to us to go past the line….