The students were carrying signs reading, "There can be no peace if you deny us our right to education." Students who had come from the university and were trapped on the Birzeit side of the checkpoint edged forwards, as did those who had just arrived on the Ramallah side, until they both closed the five meter wide gap, to widespread cheers and applause.
The two groups deliberately mixed amongst each other, friends greeting friends, people who didn't know each other smiling and laughing together. In doing this, the stupidity of the artificial five-meter separation was patently obvious.
The soldiers didn't know what to do. On one hand, they had their orders. On the other hand, the whole idea of separating two Palestinian towns for no perceivable security benefit was obviously silly.
Here they were, told to put up a checkpoint. The next minute, students and staff from the university are pointing out that this is denying them their right to education. Putting people in this position is unfair to both the soldier who must enforce it and the population who resent it.
The students' placards, with the magic word "peace" on them, strike an interesting chord. While everyone is happy that the leaders of the two peoples have met, talked, shaken hands, and signed, here is a situation where Palestinians and Israelis have been pitted against each other by Israeli government orders.
What is peace going to be like for Joe or Jane Palestinian? It is their experience that will determine the success of the process as a whole. I suspect we're in for a rough ride.
It was to be expected that today's mix would lead to confrontation. After a short scuffle started with the soldiers, the student who began it was violently arrested.
Negotiations continued for some time, until finally he was released, limping. To be fair, he did ask for it, and the soldiers did ultimately release him.