Bethlehem (300)

Three windows are open, quite a lot of people are passing relative to the first Friday after the month of Ramadan and Eid al Fitr. Many children are passing too.

Blatant behavior of one of the soldiers at a window. A 53-year-old man arrived without a permit and wanted to pass for the purpose of worship and claimed they let him pass for prayers during the last Fridays. The soldier waved him away again and again but he insisted and asked for help from other Palestinians who were waiting behind him, asking them to explain to the soldier in Hebrew that they always let him pray on Fridays (he is a Christian priest). The soldier told him: "When you're 55   years old, in three years, we will celebrate your birthday at the checkpoint and you could pass."

Only a few were rejected today. A woman who arrived at the window with her sister discovered she forgot her permit at home. After some discussion and the mobilization of an older man who explained to the soldier that they are nurses and that he can check the woman with her ID number - it was indeed so. The soldier checked, she passed cheerful and happy, and the two sisters went on their way with big smiles.