Bethlehem (300)
Second Friday of Ramadan
Crowds of people are passing extremely fast from here to the Israeli side of Bethlehem. The checking is done randomly. The worshipers who were not allowed to pass are disgruntled and try to argue - to no avail. The changes that were made in the lane from the checkpoint exit to the buses have improved the situation, compared to previous years, and the lane is much more logical and convenient. The bottleneck is created when people board the buses, where there were some very unpleasant moments. We were told that the fare is 18 Shekels per person each way. It's not cheap.
The behavior of the soldiers (especially the Border Police) was reasonable, but less pleasant than the behavior we reported two years ago. More raised voices, pushing and shoving and sometimes even rudeness. The soldiers, who spoke among themselves, made occasional comments on the brink of racism.
Like reports written in the past – during the other 11 months of the year the Palestinians are dangerous and the danger evaporates during Ramadan? No use talking about freedom of worship, of course, freedom of worship means to pray always - every day of the year.