Etzion DCO: Interrogators delayed for hours

We arrived to find at least three men fast asleep on the "couches" outside, all waiting for sons or other family members. All called in at 9 AM, during the fast, and when we left at about 13.00 no one had been dealt with. Two young boys of about 15, 16 were sitting with their fathers and looked frightened. They have been summoned for questioning.

For the first time we heard the story of a truck which had been confiscated because of "suspicion".....of having transported illegal workers. The driver employed a lawyer who managed for the truck to be returned if "he (the owner) promises not to transport these workers again." Suspicion is enough nowadays to confiscate property, to force people to pay lawyers and to have their livelihood taken away. The owner’s name does not even appear on the papers

A Bedouin from an unnamed village said that the village had completely changed for the better in recent years. The sheikh no longer had the power which he had once had to tell people who to vote for. For many years people had left school when still in the lower grades. These days they already have some young people studying at universities. They have come to understand how important education is.