Bethlehem (300)
Bethlehem
09:00 to 10:40
There is only one security guard. No officer came out; even the ecumenical volunteers didn’t show up.
Two windows are open, for a short time a third window was opened.
People arrived all the time and passed after a short wait. Today there are no long queues.
Occasionally they send someone back and do not allow him to pass to Jerusalem.
Someone made contact regarding someone else, a very old man, who was not allowed to pass. I approached him, an old man with a red kufiyah. He says that for the last 10 years he is trying his luck on Fridays and doesn’t understand why they do not let him pass. He is GSS prevented.
A woman arrives but it turns out that her permit expired yesterday, on Thursday.
This of course is nothing compared to what we saw on television about the condition of this checkpoint on weekdays.