Etzion DCL, Sun 3.2.08, Afternoon

Bethlehem, Beit Omar, DCL Ezyon

We headed for a routine shift.

At 15:30 at Ezyon DCL there were three people waiting to be interrogated by the GSS, one of them lived on the Israeli side by road 60 (I can't remember the name of the small village which is just before Beit Jala). His old permit says he live in Beit Jala, and the permit is for his village. His old permit was good for three month and with it he couldn't be in Jerusalem and had a bit of freedom of movement. The man pays his taxes to city council of Jerusalem.  

At that moment they decided to go easy on him- he has new permits that are valid for a year- they have been printed on a card that was folded in to two with the picture of the validated person attached to it.

This card, as the last one, said that he is from his village… but what would happen if he were to be caught in Jerusalem? He would get arrested, detained, tortured and punished as the permit says he may only stay in his village. It might be that this permit is valid for a year, and that good intentions were behind it all, but the bottom line is that he had received a permit that allows him to be a prisoner in his own home at the west bank… We gave him information to the Center for Civil rights.  

Things at Beit Omar were bad.

Aside for the two Shahids, our forces had also killed an 18 year old boy that had finished his exam early… As usual, during the funeral the kids throw stones: "The kids think they are playing cat and mouse- they aren't aware of the political implications and they are not fighting to free Palestine. They are usually young". "Those who are experts and that throw the stones or the Molotov Cocktails know how to escape the army and they do it well". "The army harms the children, those who aren't experts"- those were just some of the thing that were said during our meeting with the young women of the family.  
 

While the army was at the village the family came to the village and staid in the house with the sisters- They didn't allow the children to go out side. They hardly even got to play with the snow. On Friday last week, the IDF allowed the burial of the two Shahids to take place- the ground was covered with snow and the children throw snow balls at the soldiers. Shoots were fired once again, but this time the IDF made sure to aim to their legs.  

Three were killed- one badly wounded and seven suffer various wounds.

"If the one who is severely wounded is to die there will be another funeral, our forces are to surround the village again and stones will be thrown, and those who don't know how to escape will again be injured".   

Great sadness fell on Beit Omar.