Hebron, Sansana, South Hebron Hills, Mon 26.5.08, Morning
7:00-9:30
Sansana (Meitar) CP
(7:15) No one waiting to cross.
Route 60
Dura - El Fawar - Open.
Sheep Junction - Barriers are gone and an observation tower has been built. Instead of a steady stream of pedestrians crossing, vehicles were freely crossing from one side to the other. Taxi drivers told us that the Israeli police were setting up temporary roadblocks once a day for an hour or so in order to check driver id and registration and issue citations. The time of the road blocks varied from day to day.
Shuyukh junction - Army jeep on Hebron side of the road monitoring pedestrian traffic. Taxi drivers report that Border Police jeeps are there morning and evening. Soldiers order men beyond the barrier to put up their hands and cross over to have their IDs checked. The checking can take 5 minutes to 2 hours. While we were talking to the taxi drivers, an army jeep pulled up and asked Ibrahim for his ID and why he was waiting at the junction. It left after a couple of minutes.
Hebron
(8:15) Soldiers, both Border Police and Nahal, in all the usual places, even more soldiers than usual. At the Pharmacy crossing, 7 soldiers stood in a line checking their weapons. Very few people crossing. Tarpat and Tel Rumedia – almost no pedestrian activity. At the crossing near the Patriarch Cave’s, two men were being held, one of them was a teenager – 16 years. They had been waiting for 20 minutes and were held another 15 until they were released. One of the shop owners told us that the settlers tell tourists not to shop at their stores. Loud music was coming from the Gutnick Hevron Center.