'Anata-Shu'afat, Al-Ezariya, Container (Wadi Nar)

 

 

We went out today (Thursday) because it was just too hot last Monday.  Nothing unusual or different at Anata – school children coming home, traffic moving smoothly in both directions.

 

Al Ezariya resorting to its past, neglected, run down state with garbage heaps along the sides of the road and the time of refurbishing and freshening up over.

 

More work surrounding the Bedouin encampment en route to Wadi Naar.  We still have not been able to ascertain just what is going to be built there.

 

Regarding Issawiyya.  There is now two way traffic and no army presence at the exit to the Maaleh Adumim road and at the exit to French Hill.  However, there are still border police and obstructions at the exit to Mount Scopus.  When we were at the Mount Scopus checkpoint we saw that there was a fire in the village with huge plumes of black smoke rising up.  We asked the border police if the fire had been reported to 106.  We were told not to worry, they were just burning garbage because that’s the way they behave.  I said that it was the responsibility of the city to collect the garbage and if the city did its part, there would be no need to burn the garbage.   Again, I was told that “because of the way they behave”, the city could not go into the area. 

 

The fire burned itself out and fortunately did not spread.  The fact that the fire might have endangered lives was apparently irrelevant.