Bethlehem

The Hebron National Transportation
Company "appealed" to the Civil Administration (CA)
asking to retain the previous arrangement that allowed 33 of the
company's drivers to move between Halhul roadblocks and Al-Khadr
roadblocks. The CA responded by issuing 3 permits to three drivers.
The other thirty remain grounded, holding to their decision not to
use the now-allowed, but dangerous, Wadi Sa'ir route.

Al-Khadr, 07.00. Near absence of people and vehicles at this
once-busy crossing. No pedestrians marching along the road margin.
Apparently, people are growing tired of the CA and army
regulations, and confine their movement to the very
minimum.

Etzion: Also empty, demonstrating the "effectiveness" of
the new regulations.

Halhul: No more than several dozen people during the hour and a
quarter we were there. Sitting idly in their cars on the eastern
side of the roadblock were some 15 cab drivers, all from Beit Omar
and al-Arroub, who have no permit to use route 60, but at times
take the risk and go for 2 kilometer-long rides. In a huge parked
van with Israeli license plates were 15 men of various ages,
construction labourers from nearby villages, currently employed at
a building site in Beit-Shemesh. None of them presently hold valid
permits, but they put their trust in the van. If they arrive safely
at their workplace they will stay there for the entire week,
"Maybe for two weeks", another added. "Don't look at
him like that", his friends interrupted, "He is the
father of sixteen".