Bethlehem, Etzion DCL, Sun 3.2.08, Morning

7:00 – It’s a cold Friday morning. The checkpoint area is very crowded, despite the fact that six checking booths are open. According to the Ecunemical Accompaniers it took an hour and ten minutes to get from Bethlehem to Jerusalem.

By the way, according to Ecunemical Accompaniers, on the Thursday following the snow only one person showed up at the checkpoint and it still took him 25 minutes to get through.

Despite the long delay, the soldiers (mostly the female soldiers) insist that the people maintain a straight line and keep a distance of one meter from the checking booth. As soon as they feel that the line becomes disorganized they stop their work and call the security people. The female soldier that was standing next to us was pleasant and smiling, and when a woman tried to squeeze ahead of line she asked the rest of the people if they were o.k. with that. However, all this disappeared as the line grew longer and people began losing their tempers.

The process was stopped and the security guards were called in again.

Why are you pushing? She screamed again and again. It seemed to us that she really could not understand the reason.

A 28 year old Palestinian who was working for the U.N. tried to get through, but the soldier at the checking booth took away his permit and identification card. The man’s daughter was sick and needed to get to Sheeba Hospital. When we asked why the man’s ID was taken we were told that the issue was checked. After 20 minutes the permit and ID were returned. The man was sent to Etzion DCO to see what he was charged with. 

Etzion DCO – the place is deserted, as it has been recently. The reception hall is bitterly cold. There is air-conditioning but no heating. After assisting a few GSS restricted Palestinians we returned home.