Bethlehem, Etzion DCL, Tue 13.4.10, Afternoon
15:30 pm, Etzion DCL: a man came out, angrily remarking ‘It’s not right’, but did not explain his problem and drove off. Then another, youngish man came out and told us that the man who left works for the church in Jerusalem, leading prayers. He normally has a six-month permit but has been given the runaround for almost a month now (partly due to the Passover closure
), trying to renew his permit. [Yael says she heard him say he had been abroad – in the far east- and this might be the cause of his difficulty, but about this we disagree.] The last straw was today, when he was supposed to collect his permit but the computer was down. So, as he says, he has lost almost a month’s benefit of his permit.On the other hand, two other men came out, very pleased because their magnetic cards had been issued. Apparently that machine was functioning.
16:30 pm, Bethlehem - Checkpoint 300: a steady flow of workers were returning home. Four stations were open and there were no delays, apart from a very short one when an enormous group of tourists passed through.