Etzion DCO: The Palestinians already see us as a nuisance

We now arrive at the DCO later in the day. But when we arrived yesterday at about one it was to find seven men who had been called in for questioning, and were still waiting their turn. What is more and more noticeable is the reluctance of the Palestinians to talk to us or answer questions.  There is the atmosphere that somehow Big Brother will know what is being said. They had all been waiting since 9.00.  We left at 14.00. We asked if we could take the phone number of one of them so as to find if eventually they had been called in or been sent home and told to come again the next day, but none of them would agree.

We don't know what was worse...the darkness of the waiting room lit only by the daylight or the absolute blackness of the window area. Now and again one would go and bang on the bars of the turnstyle, calling soldier, soldier but no one answers. The one man has a wife in Jordan but has not been able to see her for the past months as he is "bridge prevented' and, in the beginning was prepared to talk, but then closed up and we could feel his anger and fear of talking.  His business is in Jordan.  One man said, not knowing that we know some Arabic, that the people of human rights who come drive them crazy. Their body language, as they waited, was one of sheer apathy. Or that of the leopard waiting to pounce?  So we are left wondering. We come so that the Palestinians should at least see that there is someone who is watching and reporting but, maybe on the other hand, it just fuels their anger because we can do nothing to help. And even writing this, we discussed how we have to be careful what we write about them as maybe they can be identified and what we write will be used against them. We did manage to raise a smile from two of the young men when they asked Shlomit if she could not phone the soldiers and she said it is easier to phone God than the DCO. 

This is being written on the day when Rabin assassinated and on the   morning of the American elections. .I had also made the mistake of listening again to "The Plot against America"  by Philip Roth about the rise of Lindbergh  to power. Telling Shlomit about this, we agreed that we came back feeling that we were enveloped in darkness and dread. It probably sounds very melodramatic but it was as if we were carrying the menace  of the waiting room  and the windows back with us. And we ask.... what is worse? To be the victim or to know that you are among  the persecutors? And we reminded ourselves that we were going back to a "normal" existence of food, electricity,  water and comfort. 

On the way back we saw at least 6 or 7 areas where there was extensive work on the road being made for the comfort of the settlers. Each area had many private cars, tractors,   bulldozers, cranes,  all waiting patiently  to serve the lords of the land.