Bethlehem, Etzion DCL, Sun 25.1.09, Afternoon

15:15 PM, Etzion DCL: the parking lot is relatively empty except for a spectacle totally new to us: a mini-bus, with some 15 people huddled inside, all of them young men except the somewhat older driver, is parked on the side with two military jeeps and 8 soldiers guarding it, guns pointed. The scene gave the impression of a serious military operation, as if Ben Laden himself was among the passengers. We tried to find out what was happening. The few Palestinians in the parking lot could only tell us that the bus had been there for approximately half an hour and that the people were from El Khader. Upon being questioned as to the meaning of all this, one of the soldiers jokingly volunteered that the bus had "no license", another merrily said there was "a problem with its brakes", and a third demanded we stay away.   Nothing happened for quite a long while, besides one of the jeeps leaving the place with 2 or 3 of the soldiers, one of them a relatively high ranking officer, only to return after another while, drive away again in a hurry, rush back and come to an abrupt halt behind the bus, and so forth. In the meanwhile there ensued a heated discussion in the bus which the soldiers severely reprimanded, and eventually, one after another, the men desired to go to "the bathroom". It was quite cold and presumably fear had a lot to do with their need to go. They were made to take a leak in the open but only after they had been frisked all over and their few belongings emptied out of their pockets. We looked away each time so as not to embarrass the young men during their utter humiliation.After about an hour's wait, things started moving. One of the soldiers came out of the DCL with 4 IDs. The names of the holders were called out one by one. In turn, each of the men was again frisked as if they were criminals, and then made to stand in front of one of the jeeps till the next guy went thru the same procedure. They filed up next to each other, wordless, their heads drooped. Then the 4 were marched in straight line towards the back gate of the DCL. One soldier in front of the group, two at the back, one of them the commander of the "operation", all with guns aimed and ready to shoot. The gate opened slightly and they were let in one by one, a good few minutes between each one.

Were these 4 the only ones to go thru this ordeal? No way. This humiliating and absolutely frightening "combat" course was repeated again and again for all the passengers of the bus, including the driver. It lasted till about 17:15. We were at loss what to do next. Do we wait? How do we find out how this terrifying show of force ends?

And then, some ten minutes later, lo and behold – almost the whole lot of them joyfully come out! All except 2, according to the driver who was now free to talk to us. One of the two had been in custody for some time 6 years ago, as far as the driver knew. We leave deeply concerned for the fate of the two left behind.

 During all this time, there was no one in the waiting hall when we arrived except 2 young men waiting for a GSS interview since 09:00 and when we tried to inquire as to how long they would still be made to wait, we were rudely told by the guy who answered our phone call that it was none of our business, so we turned to the Humanitarian Center and perhaps that helped because they were finally called in. Besides them, 2 women who came in for a palm print were let in following our call to the soldier behind the turnstiles who was reclined in his chair in a way which prevented his seeing whoever was seeking service. Gradually, within about an hour, about 10 people who were still being attended to in the office came out, including the two women.