A scuffle has broken out among the Palestinian workers waiting to pass the sprawling Israeli checkpoint between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The men, who have waited patiently outside the terminal for much of the night, are tired, and afraid of arriving late at work on nearby Israeli building sites. Now, one of them is trying to push ahead of the queue, sparking an angry response from the men behind.

Until recently, the armed guards sent in to restore order would have been members of the Israeli army or police forces. But the young man heading towards the tumult with his assault rifle is unmistakeably civilian: his hair is – even by the famously casual standards of the Israeli army – long and wild; under his bullet-proof vest, he wears no uniform but a simple green sweater.