Bethlehem, Etzion DCL, Tue 9.6.09, Morning

6.30 AM, Bethlehem - Checkpoint 300: one of the many men waiting outside for transport to work asked if we couldn’t arrange for there to be cold drinking water in the summer.

The lines at the four operating checkpoints would vary from 10 people long to a mere dribble. According to people coming out there were crowds waiting in the inner section, where there were two lines – one for workers and one humanitarian line. Apparently now and again the humanitarian line was open to everyone – and this may explain the inconsistent flow.

People told us that on Sunday and Monday the situation was particularly bad.

An old woman had trouble with the fingerprinting machine, though she said she had renewed hers two weeks ago. An officer finally came round (perhaps summoned by the soldier in the booth) but, without even checking her documents, roughly sent her back. When we remonstrated with him, he said ‘this is no place for discussion’ and quickly shut a door behind him.
8.05 AM, Etzion DCL: the checkpoint was being opened and about 20 men were already waiting.  The officer came up to introduce himself to us.

There were two separate cases of people refused entry by the security services.  We gave them both Sylvia’s phone number, before they went in to the office to try their luck again. 

A man was trying to get a permit for him to attend the court in the Russian Compound, where his 23 year-old son was being tried (for the last time) for illegal entry. He said that in the previous trial he had been given permission to attend. We phoned Hannah Barag who felt he was unlikely to get permission as his son did have a lawyer with him. Anyway, he did go inside to the office and we tried to look out for him to see if he was successful but somehow seem to have missed him.

A young woman was in a hurry to have her fingerprinting prepared so as to get to work in Jerusalem. We were impressed by the fact that both in her case and the case of the man mentioned above, the men waiting their turn let them go to the front of the queue.

8.30 AM:  the old lady who had been turned back at Bethlehem checkpoint finally struggled up the hill to the Etzion DCL. We had noticed that her permit was valid only until June 11, so asked the local men to advise her to get it renewed. We hope she did.

9.00  AM: we left.

POSTSCRIPT
I absentmindedly left my badge on when I went on to Mahane Yehuda.  At one counter the black-kippahed seller asked me if I was against checkpoints. We went on to speak about checkpoints in the West Bank – of which he was genuinely unaware. Then his Arab companion started telling him about ‘impromptu’ checkpoints and, as I left, there was quite a lesson going on!  (I at that stage removed my badge!)