Etzion DCL
Etzion 12/3/2015
10.45 Despite the rain and the wind many people arrived. In the waiting hall about 30 people were waiting and we were told that when they opened they let in 60 people. The exit rate was very slow and people waiting feared that they would not be able to enter before noon, closing time. The experienced ones knew that exactly at noon reception will stop and neither begging nor pleas for extension would help. They also knew that if they weren’t accepted today, they will have to wait a week and try and get back on Thursday, the day assigned to them according to their place of residence. They know for a long time now that Palestinians living close to DCL belong to different areas and that residents of each area are assigned a day when they can be received.
We heard the loudspeaker announce to let in people with numbers up to 81. But at 11:40 they announced that only numbers up to 72 will be let in!
An older man came up to us and showed us a document indicating that his 11-year-old nephew is hospitalized with cancer in the oncology department at the hospital, "Augusta Victoria" in Jerusalem. The child's parents work and cannot stay next to him, so he, the uncle, came to their aid, asked for and received permits to be near the patient. But this time they refused to let him pass and sent him to the Palestinian DCL and from there he was sent back to Etzion DCL. He looked very worried and said he did not know what to do.
Next two young men approached us and said they were caught picking the edible Gundelia plant, which is a protected plant. Each of them was fined NIS 500, their work permits were taken and they were informed that they were police restricted for two years. The trial was set for February 2016. There is no doubt that the Israeli police is protecting the plants vigilantly.
A young man said he was caught crossing a white line and the police confiscated his car for 30 days. He was fined NIS 1000 and was summoned to a trial.
A youngster, who came to the DCL after the police summoned him today, drove about an hour but wasn’t let in. They told him that “there is no police today”. He tried to call those who spoke with him, but there was no answer.
Two young men, whose cars were confiscated by "Control", were required to pay fines. One NIS2,200 and the other more than 5,000 shekels! They paid the fines and came for the cars as they were told, but there was no one there. They tried to call the phone number they had, but no one answered. We tried to help and finally we were able to get hold of one of the “controllers” who said he’ll call back at once. We waited about an hour and the phone call never came. When we left, they were still waiting.