Etzion DCL, Mon 3.10.11, Afternoon

14:10,Etzion DCL:  only a few vehicles were in the parking area, but the waiting hall was empty. We assumed that only a few people were inside, that that they would be attended to, come out shortly, and that our shift would be short. We were wrong. Our shift was long, irritating and tiresome, but it ended in success.

14:30 - still none of those waiting inside had come out. We thought that the soldiers hadn’t returned from their midday break or that they were not functioning properly. We phoned the humanitarian center.

14:45 - a young man came out who had applied for a permit to enter Israel in order to work in a monastery, but he was refused entrance. We referred him to the department of the Interior Ministry which deals with such matters.

15:05 - a man and his wife who had renewed their magnetic cards came out; another couple who had received entry permits also came out. We thought that they were the last ones and that soon the DCL would be empty.

Then a man approached us who told us that he was suffering from a heart disease and was in need of a heart transplant. He was being treated every Tuesday in the “Mokasad” hospital in Jerusalem by a heart specialist. Until today he had received a permit which was renewed each month. Today he had been told by the hospital that they had sent him a new invitation and had coordinated with the health department that he should receive a new permit at the Etzion DCL.

He came to the DCL but did not receive the permit. He was told that the security service was examining his case and that he should return tomorrow. The sick man explained to the soldier that the security service had already been authorizing his monthly permit for a year and each month renewing it. He asked the soldier to check if the permit had arrived but the soldier refused. The man asked for our help. He told us that when he was a minor, before he was issued with an identity card, he had thrown stones and had been arrested. When he submitted an application for a permit to go for treatment in a Jerusalem hospital the security service investigated his past and he was given a permit. Therefore it is not clear why now he has suddenly been denied.

Shlomit started to telephone. The humanitarian center checked and found out that he had been told that the permit had been held-up because it had not been coordinated with the health department.  The hospital insisted that there had been an application for coordination and said that his doctor would apply again. We tried to check with the health department whether the application had been received by them, but they didn’t answer the telephone.

Shlomit didn’t despair. She contacted the humanitarian center again, and with its help reached the department of health which confirmed that the coordination had been established and the permit has been sent. The sick man went in again, hoping that now they would receive him, but again came out disappointed. He was told that the security service was still checking. Shlomit continued to make phone-calls. The humanitarian center cooperated. After a few hours and many telephone-calls she was told that the permit had arrived at the DCL., but wasn’t yet printed.

Night fell, and the DCL was about to close. The sick man sat, gloomy and dispirited. An officer, lieutenant A, came to lock the door and Shlomit told him the story of the sick man. The officer promised to enter the office and check whether the printed permit had arrived, and politely and considerately agreed that in the meantime he could continue to wait in the hall.

Finally he brought-out the longed-for permit.