Al Khadr, Beit Ummar, Bethlehem (300), Etzion DCL, Halhul, Nabi Yunis, Mon 9.1.12, Morning

7.30 am.  Entrance to Al Khadr:  A man from ElArub who owes an overdue fine.  Advised to go to Etzion.

8.08 am,  Etzion DCL:  no cars, but about 20 men were entering the building which apparently had just opened. They were admitted quite soon. Most came for magnetic cards but two were for the police. They did not know why they were refused entry. The policeman said the computer was down just at that moment but he would get back to us with the answers, so we kept in touch with the two men.  It turned out that one was not refused by the police, so probably by Security. The other was completely clear! Was it just an arbitrary act on the part of a soldier at a checkpoint?

8.40 am, Beit Ummar:  we had to attend a prearranged meeting to collect documents.

9.00 am, Halhul – northern entrance:  we met a man about payment of an old traffic fine.

9.15 am, Nabi Yunis:  A prearranged meeting for signing of power of attorney and payment.                              Referred to Sylvia a man refused entry by Security.

During the morning we had two cases of men who had been given provisional sentences by the Court, and could not understand why they were nevertheless being refused an entry permit for an extended period. We had to explain that the police do this independently of the court decision – just the fact that they had been arrested  made them subject to refusal of entry. In both cases, the men wanted to approach lawyers for help. We arranged to clarify the situation and keep in touch. There is clearly such scope for unscrupulous lawyers to exploit poor folks’ ignorance. The bureaucracy is truly frightful – it is difficult enough to understand the regulations and the abundant official documents are in Hebrew!