Bethlehem, Etzion DCL, Wed 13.2.08, Morning
Rachel’s Passage
A rainy day, and on such a day few people pass through the checkpoint. They pass through quickly and are pleasant and smiling – there’s work today.
Again, as on previous occasions, we meet the security company’s guards. Has the army privatized itself ? Has Rachel’s passage partly changed into a civilian site ? Anyway, what we see is stern-faced guards, and the guns in their hands fill them with the sense of their importance which manifests itself in consummate insolence. In other words, they shout, find fault, and are generally unpleasant both to the Palestinians and to MachsomWatch. We contact the Humanitarian Center and were answered “We will pass this information on . . . “
El Nashash
We meet a man who has brought documents needed to complete the handling of a case of a driving violation.
Nebe Yunis
Another driving violation case.
Beit Omer
On our way to the DCL we see several Hummers at the taxi stand. The shops are closed and locked. Following this, we are informed that Beit Omer has been under curfew since 4 am. The army is conducting searches, and up till now 30 people have been arrested and are being held in the Etzion DCL. The reason for this is to search for people who were involved in the incident in the Etzion village last week. We report this information.
Etsion DCL
There are few people because the policeman, Mher, is absent. We meet the officer in charge of the DCL and he tells us that Maher will not return until Sunday, and that there is a notice to this effect. The notice is not in the reception area but in an interior room, so of course someone arriving at the DCL would not know this.