South Hebron

South Hebron Hills Sunday 26.06.05 AMObservers: Zafrira, Elena (reporting).06:45-8:35Summary: Marked military presence at Al-Fawwar-Dura junction and at Beit Haggai –as was to expected after the shooting incident on Friday. Not a single Palestinian vehicle of any kind was observed on route 60- either the taxi permits have been cancelled or the Palestinians preferred not to drive on the day of the funeral cortege -scheduled to leave Beit Haggai for Jerusalem at 12:00.On route 60 at the turn-off to Ramadin (even before Sansana CP) there are 3 soldiers and an army jeep. Palestinian pedestrians approaching route 60 (probably workers with permits) were proffering their IDs for inspection. There was no queue and there were no detainees.Sansana CP: We were allowed through without any problems. There were no detainees. At the roadside stood a convoy of cars belonging to the security guards for the fence⁄wall.Dahariya: The gate was closed and there was also a heap of stones.Carme: There are new dirt barriers where access was open last week. An abandoned pickup which tried to cross the barrier on the other side of the road has got stuck on top of it.All approaches to Samoa by road have been blocked- the low hills/mounds alongside route 60 after the entrance to Samoa have been shaved flat-apparently to prevent any line of fire onto route 60 from a hidden vantage point.Al –Fawwar-Dura: The soldiers are standing at both the al-Fawwar and the Dura sides. Passage is open to pedestrians in both directions. One of the soldiers approached us to ask who we are. When he heard "MW" he said in a perfectly friendly manner "You do your job and we'll do ours". He explained that cars would be allowed to cross the junction for one hour every three hours, but that humanitarian cases –ambulances etc- would be let through at all times. He also told us that one of the functions of the soldiers stationed at the junction -and even more so at the roadblock newly set up outside Beit Haggai- was to protect the Palestinians from any attempted acts of vengeance by the settlers. There were no detainees, so we continued on our way.Just past Al –Fawwar, after a bend in the road which hides it, a Hummer is on the look out.Beit Haggai: At the junction of the approach road to Beit Haggai and route 60 there is a roadblock manned by at least 5 soldiers. A man in civilian clothes –apparently a settler was standing near them. Next to them there is a signpost marking the spot the where the 17-year old Avihai Levi from Beit Haggai was killed on Friday. The soldier who asked who we were had never heard of MW – nor does he seem very interested although his attitude is not hostile. We get out to of the car to give them copies of our "Letter to a Soldier". One of the soldiers refuses to take it saying "I'm not allowed to read it" "Read it at home then". "No! I live HERE". -If this is true it proves yet again the existence of a dangerous symbiosis, and moreover at a roadblock supposed ( according to the soldier at al –Fawwar) to protect Palestinians from acts of vengeance by settlers in Beit Haggai! At that very moment the civilian approached us and said he wanted to read our Letter. We gave him a copy ; perhaps he thought it would provide written evidence of our treachery- who knows? We asl ogave a copy to the soldier who had first asked who we were. We said goodbye and left.Sheep's Crossing. No army presence, Pedestrians are crossing in both directions.After Sheep's Crossing, just before the junction of route 60 and route 356 a flying roadblock had been set up- There was no traffic waiting when we first passed this roadblock, but on our way back- via route 356- we saw 2 vehicles (going towards Sheep's Crossing) being checked by the soldiers at this roadblock. Shiyukh –Sair Junctio0n roadblock. Closed to vehicles as usual . No army presence.The Humanitarian Gate: closed. There were no soldiers on the ground. On the other side of the gate, in the direction of Hebron, a car with a flag which we could not identify, because of the distance, had stopped; but it soon began to move slowly towards Hebron. Perhaps it had wanted to get through the gate, failed to do so, and then turned round and was going back to Hebron. Perhaps it had come from elsewhere and had got through the gate with the aid of soldiers, who in the meantime had returned to their pill box. The situation was unclear.Halhul Bridge – Open. No soldiers to be seen on the ground.Zif Junction: Closed. Two trucks were transferring goods back-to –back over the gate in the Yatta direction. There were no soldiers present. One of the drivers/owners was happy to talk to us and said that the Junctions had been closed after the Beit Haggai incident. When we asked him how long the back-to back operation took, he said dismissively, "No more than half an hour". We got the impression that he was pleased that there was a military presence able to prevent any acts of vengeance originating from Beit Haggai.We called S. to ask if there had been any problems at Tawwani. He said that the army had newly closed all the exits to Yatta . As for the thugs up at the illegal outpost Havat Maon –"We don't go near them". We returned to Shoket. End