The radio in the waiting room is maliciously deafening

On our way back we were greeted by a new construction work. A little bit more money is going into the pocket of some contractor who has contacts with the Jerusalem Municipality.

And this is what we saw on the back of the car of one of the settlers who came to look for slave labour. By the way, they do not have any trouble at the turnstile. One phone call and they are in. 

But we actually had a good morning as we managed to help two men who had to pay traffic fines.  The one had forgotten that he had a fine and it had disappeared from the computer, but he had managed to get a new copy at Hebron. Luckily Shlomit had taken the phone number of the second man and phoned him and the postal clerk checked for her and at the post office of Alon Shvut and it suddenly appeared.  Wonders of the wanderings of a roaming fine.  Here too they told us of how they are sent from pillar to post when they were longing to pay their fine. But this too is part of how to punish the Palestinians who do not want to understand that they are living under occupation. We had no trouble driving into the settlement with Palestinians and for once felt that we had really accomplished something. Which we rarely do. But the question is what happens to these people when we are not there.

Another case of a man who had his truck confiscated but we do not know why. I am sure that the army would manage to find an excuse.

Again, a man who had worked in Israel for five years finds that he is prevented by the GSS. 

Elderly men wait for their sons who have been called in for questioning. Sometimes they tell us the reason, sometimes they say they have no idea. And we believe them. We hear this time and again. They probably come as they want to be sure that their sons will not be arrested and they will not know where they are.

 We also know that they are called in so as to try to make them collaborators. Even an old man of 70 who politely refused this generous offer and said that he wants to sleep peacefully at night. Question is if, as punishment, the army will come knocking at this door on some night on one pretext or other.

Shlomit tried to phone the number we were given to check out fines.....you get sent...automatically to press one number after a number until your finger is numb...and then you get cut off. 

We also wish that the damn radio will also be cut off. For years the waiting room was silent. And now it is so loud and it is obviously being done on purpose.  

The DCO of Etzion lives up to its reputation. We never dreamed in the first years that we would long for those years when the soldiers actually answered the phone and would even come outside to solve a problem. When you could sit in the waiting room like a human being.