Beit Omar, Etzion DCO, El Khadr, Biet Jala, Bethlehem Cp 300

Bethlehem and Vicinity, Wednesday PM, 8.12.04.Observers: TB, DG (reporting)Bet Omar – 15:00: We dropped off a drivers license for N. at the convenience store. The rocks blocking the entrance of vehicles into the village had been removed and the pillbox next to it seemed unmanned.Etzyon DCO – 15:15: 17 people waiting, some of them in the shed, some waiting for the turnstile to rotate and others already at the windows. Both operating windows are manned but for some reason the soldiers behind them alternate in attending to people. It is very cold, the chairs in the shed are dirty and wet. The soldiers would not heed to our requests to speed things up. As usual, some of the permit seekers are turned down for need of more documents, some are asked to wait for further investigation, some come out with a permit and a sigh of relief. One man claims he’s been waiting since 9 in the morning. However, it turns out he is actually waiting for his employer to call the DCO. An elderly woman who wants to go to Germany had to change her flight twice already because she could not get the necessary permit to go to Ben Gurion Airport. This morning she got a call from the DCO saying the permit was ready. When she came to fetch it she was told they still needed a photocopy of her ticket. She rushed off and came back half an hour later with the desired copy, only to be sent away again till tomorrow morning. We could not get a hold of M, the officer in charge. A. said permits for the airport are seldom issued, usually only in severe humanitarian cases, but that she should come tomorrow morning to talk to M. El Kahdre – 16:00: The place was packed with taxis and transits but not too many people. No soldiers in sight except for a jeep coming down the adjacent hill but it drove away. Beit Jalla CP – 16:15: Only one or two cars in each direction. The cement barrier blocking cars from entering Wallaja has been opened.Tunnel CP – 16:30: Traffic flowing except for 4 cars detained for inspection in the parallel lane.Bethlehem CP 300– 16:45: About 20 vehicles in line bound for Bethlehem but it takes five minutes and they are all on their way. Till then, though, traffic in the opposite direction is at a standstill. Some pedestrians going to Bethlehem, no detainees.