Abu Dis, Sawahre Wednesday PM, 23.2.05Observers: Tami B., Daniela G. (reporting)Abu Dis – 15:15: Nothing new, neither at the Cliff hotel, nor at the former Pishpash. The monastery gate is still open but some prefer climbing over the gaps because they claim it is shorter. The BP jeep is again there but now it blocks the way up the hill towards A-Tour and only residents are allowed to drive through because of the bulldozers still at work on the demolished building. Sawahre – 15:45: A huge line of cars southbound. Checking is carried out at a reasonable pace but the queue remains endless (over 40 vehicles long). At a certain point the DCO representative comes down, is disturbed by the long queue and begins waving the vehicles through, without checking any of them. This brings about a very heated dispute between him and a soldier who disapproves. This particular soldier is in charge of passing on to the GSS the details of the IDs that are randomly collected for checking from the passengers of the taxis/transits. However, whenever he receives a bunch of IDs he delays calling the GSS for about half an hour, on purpose it seems, and some twenty men are made to wait far longer than it usually takes. This too arouses the anger of the DCO rep. and he constantly phones the GSS to at least hasten their share of the procedure. The waiting men are also fuming and the soldier is very unsympathetic, to say the least. It took him almost two hours to return the IDs and his attitude on the whole is nasty, haughty and contemptuous. Strangely enough, pedestrians go through unhindered and there is no soldier posted at the checking point beyond the turnstiles.