Two weeks ago, I witnessed Israeli Border Police stop people, demand to see their documents, make them stand against the wall, and speak rudely to an elderly man while denying him the right to walk to his own house via direct route but ordered him to take the long way around.
Today, there was a different group of Border Police manning the checkpoints. On the way to the mosque, people still had to stand in the cage, but they were let through rather rapidly and without being searched. X and I were chased out by a police officer when he saw us observing, and like last time, went to the shop of a friend from where we could watch the checkpoint furthest from the mosque.
It was manned by a young woman and man.
After we were chased out by the police officer, the woman BP officer asked for our ID and told us there is a new military order that states there are no cameras allowed. We asked her to please produce it and show it to us, and she replied she couldn't find. We looked at each other awkwardly for a while, and then she let us go.
The two guards were evidently in a very good mood and constantly laughing and joking around. The female officer and her counterpart spoke to a small Palestinian boy, and the woman tried practicing her Arabic. For the most part they ignored the people coming and going from the mosque, but when interaction happened, it was generally positive. Two people were stopped for a few seconds, and then released. No one was asked to offer their documents, or searched, or made to stand against the wall. The Border Police at that particular checkpoint weren't looking for people to harass today.
At our friend's shop, we sat and joked around as we observed the checkpoint. Fortunately, there was nothing bad to report.On the way back, after prayers finished, we went back through the Souq. We ran into an embarrassed young man with a beard. He was trying to go pray also, but the soldiers and police he ran into decided that, for whatever reason, he would not be given permission.
What I witnessed today and two weeks ago shows one of the many problematic aspects of the occupation,and checkpoints in particular.
A Palestinian in Hebron (or any other West Bank city or village or town) has no assurance of what he or she will face when meeting an Israeli soldier, police officer or Border Police officer. How the person in uniform will act is uknown. Perhaps they are having a good day, and want to wave the Palestinian along, or even greet them in Arabic. Or perhaps they are having a bad day, and can make the Palestinian stand against the wall for 15 minutes or more.
Perhaps they are in a good mood and will offer the Palestinian children candy. Perhaps they are in a bad mood, and will hit them. Perhaps the soldier is feeling generous and will help the elderly Palestinian woman carry her bags. Perhaps he is angry and wants to hurt someone or show off his power, and so an elderly man with a cane will be banned from walking to his home and will have to take the long way around. Or in an even worse scenario, look for an excuse to inflict a beating- or worse.
The fate of the Palestinian at the checkpoint depends on the whims of the Israelis in uniform who are manning.
God-willing there will come a day sooner than later when this will no longer be a reality but a thing of the past.
Palestinian worshipers waiting in the cage to be let in. Today, the line moved rather quickly. As we were leaving however, a young man was denied entry, allegedly because he was between 15 and 30 years old. We saw others in this age range cross. Often these things depend on the mood of the soldiers running the checkpoint at that particular time.
The policeman in the photo told us to stop filming and go, and angrily yelled when we weren't walking fast enough.
The two Border Police officers in this photo treated the Palestinians they spoke to with respect and courtesy, including this boy. Two weeks ago, two other BP officers manning this checkpoint behaved in a completely opposite way.
People walked to the mosque unmolested today.
At certain points, the checkpoint booth seemed empty as the two Border Police officers sat inside and decided not to bother people. No one bothered them either.
Other times, they hung out with their friends, letting the people walk by.
Am Israeli military sniper on the roof of the mosque looks down at the Palestinian Muslims below.
Returning from prayer. Again, the Border Police officers let the people go about their day without interfering.
My friend Muhammad and myself. I have known this guy since 2010.
X, a friend of mine.
Some Palestinian kids who came to hang out by the shop, and, unsurprisingly, asked for a photo of them to be taken.
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