Bethlehem (300), Tue 23.10.12, Morning
Bethlehem – Checkpoint 300, 6:40 am:
The hall is crowded, noisy, full of people waiting to pass. The girl soldier in #1 stops checking, stands up and demands that the people form a line Number 2 joins in. The guards also support these two women soldiers, telling the people to form lines. And it is repeated several times.
There are many men, "socharim" waiting for seven o'clock in order to enter. All of them plus the others cause disorder and noise. The Humanitarian line is open.
A guard takes a Palestinian to the wall where we are standing to question him. The guard tells him to SIT. The man begins to, but then stands up, and the guard does not insist that he sit on the floor. In a few minutes the Palestinian continues into Jerusalem. By seven thirty all have passed It is a long time since we have seen the insistence of the people keeping orderly lines when passing the CP.