Nabi Yunis
09/01/2012 ,Morning
Chaya O., Chana S. (reporting)
7.00 am. Bethlehem: two stations were open, with a few people in line. Everyone told us that conditions were good this morning.
7.30 am. Entrance to El Khadr: a man from El Arub who owes an overdue fine was advised to go to Etzion DCL.
8.08 am. Etzion DCL: no cars, but about 20 men were entering the building which apparently had just opened. They were admitted quite soon. Most came for magnetic cards but two were for the police. They did not know why they were refused entry. The policeman said the computer was down just at that moment but he would get back to us with the answers, so we kept in touch with the two men. It turned out that one was not refused by the police, so probably by Security. The other was completely clear! Was it just an arbitrary act on the part of a soldier at a checkpoint?
8.40 Beit Ummar: a prearranged meeting to collect documents
7.30 am. Entrance to El Khadr: a man from El Arub who owes an overdue fine was advised to go to Etzion DCL.
8.08 am. Etzion DCL: no cars, but about 20 men were entering the building which apparently had just opened. They were admitted quite soon. Most came for magnetic cards but two were for the police. They did not know why they were refused entry. The policeman said the computer was down just at that moment but he would get back to us with the answers, so we kept in touch with the two men. It turned out that one was not refused by the police, so probably by Security. The other was completely clear! Was it just an arbitrary act on the part of a soldier at a checkpoint?
8.40 Beit Ummar: a prearranged meeting to collect documents
9.00 am. Halhul – northern entrance: a man about payment of an old traffic fine.
9.15 am. Nabi Yunis: a prearranged meeting for signing of power of attorney and payment. We referred to Sylvia a man refused entry by Security.
9.15 am. Nabi Yunis: a prearranged meeting for signing of power of attorney and payment. We referred to Sylvia a man refused entry by Security.
During the morning we had two cases of men who had been given provisional sentences by the Court, and could not understand why they were nevertheless being refused an entry permit for an extended period. We had to explain that the police do this independently of the court decision – just the fact that they had been arrested made them subject to refusal of entry. In both cases, the men wanted to approach lawyers for help. We arranged to clarify the situation and keep in touch. There is clearly such scope for unscrupulous lawyers to exploit poor folks’ ignorance. The bureaucracy is truly frightful – it is difficult enough to understand the regulations and the abundant official documents are in Hebrew!
28/11/2011 ,Morning
Chaya Ofek (reporting). Charles K. (translating)
Route 60:
7:30 Hussan – People come to the police station to inquire about matters affecting them.
7:30 Hussan – People come to the police station to inquire about matters affecting them.
7:45 Al Nashshash – Ditto.
8:00 Etzion DCL – About 50 people waiting on line to obtain a magnetic card. The policeman is at the DCO.
8:30 Beit Ummar – People come to make inquiries about matters involving the police.
9:00 Nabi Yunis – Ditto.
On the way, as usual, a soldier or two scattered along the road, armed and helmeted like on a battlefield. Jeeps and Hummers also peek from fields, vineyards and alongside houses.
Halhul:
An observation balloon floats above Carmei Tzur, and the police also make their contribution: police officers sit in a car bearing civilian plates, lying in wait for cars making an illegal turn north from Halhul. Reminder: 50 meters of a new, wide road have been paved at the northern entrance of Halhul, but people leaving the town are allowed only to turn south. To reach Beit Ummar – half a kilometer to the north – they have to drive two kilometers to the first entrance to Hebron (Nabi Yunis) and then drive back north.
An observation balloon floats above Carmei Tzur, and the police also make their contribution: police officers sit in a car bearing civilian plates, lying in wait for cars making an illegal turn north from Halhul. Reminder: 50 meters of a new, wide road have been paved at the northern entrance of Halhul, but people leaving the town are allowed only to turn south. To reach Beit Ummar – half a kilometer to the north – they have to drive two kilometers to the first entrance to Hebron (Nabi Yunis) and then drive back north.
When we drove by we saw that two Palestinian cars had been caught by the police.
29/08/2011 ,Morning
Chaya O. (reporting)
08.10 Etzion DCL
About 50 people are sitting in the waiting hall. The policeman tells us (on the telephone) : the system has failed, there is no service today and perhaps tomorrow also.
08.30 Beit Ummar
Several people ask for advice regarding police and GSS denials.
09.00 Nabi Yunis
Here also, several people ask for advice about the above subjects.
09.30 A man phones to tell us that he has been waiting since 08.00 to receive a magnetic card at the Etzion DCL. He says that everyone was told to go home because “the computers failed”, and he will be able to return only on Monday - in a week - because that is the day designated for Bethlehem.
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Tuesday 30.8.11 am
08.10 I phone to the Etzion DCL and am told that the computer system has
been repaired and the public should be able to come both for magnetic card renewal and also for interviews with the policeman. So far as I could understand, there was not a fire at the DCL, only a collapse of the computer system.
22/08/2011 ,Morning
Haya A., Ada G. (reporting)
7:10 am, Bethlehem - Checkpoint 300: many are already gathered outside the checkpoint, cross and disgruntled because so many more are waiting on the Palestinian side. The soldier is not letting any one cross, the crowding and disarray are intolerable. They report the Humanitarian Centre says there's a problem with the metal detector. Meanwhile the line doesn't move. Four posts are open. There are no lines on the Israeli side, the pressure is all on the Palestinian side. We call the Humanitarian Centre once again.
7:30 am, Hussan
No Information
7:40 am, Al-Nashshash
No Information
7:55 am, Etzion DCL: peole are waiting. The military jeep arrives at 8:10 and collects those waiting (c.20). Today there is a policeman, and some approach him.
8:40 am, Beit Ummar
No Information
9:00 am, Nabi Yunis: some people approach us with various problems; we shall deal with them to the best of our meagre ability.
15/08/2011 ,Morning
Chaya A.., Ada G. (reporting). Charles K. (translating)
07:10 Bethlehem - Checkpoint 300:
four positions open. Only a few people waiting. The Palestinians say there's great congestion and confusion on the other side, long lines and the soldier only allows a few people through and then shuts down the crossing for 10-15 minutes each time. We contacted the humanitarian office.
08:00 Etzion DCL:
about 50 people waiting for the waiting room to open. There won't be any policeman here today. At 08:20 the first people were admitted to receive permits. People coming to receive a magnetic card are still waiting.
08:40 Beit Umar:
No Information
09:00 Nebi Yunis:
The usual problems; we try to help.
08/08/2011 ,Morning
Chaya O., Ada G. (reporting)
07.00 Bethlehem - Checkpoint 300
There are two inspection stations open, and few people passing through. Passage through the checkpoint is fast. The soldier in the inspection station asks us to stand next to the wall, but we refuse to submit to this punishment.
08.00 Etzion DCL
About 60 people are waiting, with relatively many women. A man tells us that he was here yesterday morning from 08.30 until 16.30 but didn’t succeed to enter, although he was number 13 in the queue. The soldier told him that the computer had failed and no-one knew when it would be repaired.
08.45 Beit 'Inun
A fuel tanker is transferring gasoline back-to-back into a smaller tanker. The driver from Tarkomia tells us that when the tanker to Beit 'Inun is full he will continue from Nabi Yunis to Sa’ir and Shavivcha on a narrow and winding road. However, when only some of the fuel is for Beit 'Inun he travels on a shorter and better road – Road No 60 – until he reaches the cement obstruction blocks, and transfers the gasoline there, also back-to-back, into a tanker that comes from the other side of the blocks, from Beit 'Inun. Which option is preferable? Both of them are lousy . . . .
09.00 Nabi Yunis
We took care of paper-work for two Palestinians.
Bethlehem - Checkpoint 300
On our way back to Jerusalem we stopped at Bethlehem - Checkpoint 300. At the entrance and in the hall there are signs on the wall “ Keep the place clean and tidy”. The filth piled-up over the length of the path to the entrance is disgusting. Who exactly should keep the place tidy? It seems to me that the (Israeli) authorities are responsible! There isn’t even one dust-bin there for goodness sake!
20/06/2011 ,Morning
Chaya O., Chana S. (reporting)
7.00 am, Bethlehem – Checkpoint 300: we were amazed at the huge number of cars waiting to pick up workers. Then we understood: all the people complained about the slow treatment at the Bethlehem side of the checkpoint. A woman said the women’s gate was also slow. As a result everyone was exiting later than usual. Apparently the situation was bad also the previous day.
8.00 am, Etzion DCL: because the office was closed last week there was an unusually large crowd waiting for magnetic cards. The office opened finally at 8.20 (after a phone-call by Chaya at 8.15). We gave our phone number to two men in the queue to let us know about progress. One phoned us 9.15 to complain.
When we returned from Nabi Yunis at 9.35 we met a man outside who was number 71 in the list. As we wondered whether so many people would get their cards in one day Chaya phoned the Moked. The soldier there was trying to be helpful but obviously did not understand the procedure at the DCL. He was unaware even that there are particular days for residents of different areas. So Chaya phoned Hanna Barag who spoke to the commanding officer (of the DCL?) who assured her that ALL people would be admitted during the day. We informed the afternoon shift of MW so that they could check on this later.
8.35 am, Beit Ummar: a man and his nephew refused permits by Security. We referred them to Sylvia.
9.00 am, Nabi Yunis: a pre-arranged meeting on behalf of Sylvia to get power of attorney and payment.
Beit 'Inun: as we were early for this meeting we drove to Beit 'Inun and saw that it is even more blocked than before, on both sides of the road.
06/06/2011 ,Morning
Chaya O., Chana S. (reporting)
A BAD DAY AT ETZION DCL
7.00 am, Bethlehem – Checkpoint 300: the parking lot was closed off and the guard told us it was for the terminal only. So in fact there isn’t any legal parking. Everyone said that passage was easy today.
One man from Beth Fajar whose access to his works has been closed to him for four years, needs a permit to enable him to connect electricity there. Chaya gave him a phone number.
7.20 am, Hussan: no clients at the checkpoint except one man waiting for a Hebron-bound taxi (to take him home from his work in Atarot). He was happy to chat with us. He said life was much easier before “Peace” (i.e., Oslo), because then he could work freely in Eilat, Tel Aviv, anywhere in the country.
7.55 am, Etzion DCL: about 30 people of all ages were waiting for the station to open and prepared a list. Just after 8:00 am, a truck drew up, a loudspeaker ordered everyone to go back behind the barrier and then two officers hopped out and called the people one by one to take numbers, in accordance with the list. We arranged with one man, no.24 on the list, to keep in touch. At 9.10 he told us that 13 people had been admitted. An hour later no one else was admitted. We phoned a DCL soldier who said she would check and also the Moked (The Central Office), but with little progress.
At 12:25 our informant phoned to say that they were told that the computer was down, a few people had given up and left. As he was by now second in line, he decided to wait while I spoke to the DCL for them to prepare a list of those who couldn't manage to be admitted so that they could come the next day (though when could that be, seeing that tomorrow evening will be Shavuot?). When I phoned they said there was no problem with the computer, but that they were under pressure. Apparently the soldier at the window simply told the people waiting this. Why? Did he hope (realistically, in the event) that people would just give up and go away? After more phone calls to the DCL and the Moked (who sounded as if they were really trying to help) and a few despairing calls from our informant we finally had a call from him at 15:15 to say that he was now the proud holder of a renewed magnetic card. He thanked us effusively. I couldn’t understand from him, though, how many people were still waiting.
There was no police officer at Etzion DCL. At Hebron, too, there would be no police in the morning though possibly in the afternoon.
We got a phone-call from a man who had to go to the Qalqiliya police to hand in forms to lodge an appeal. The policeman did not want to accept them and Chaya spoke to the policeman and explained (!) to him the correct procedure.
8:40-9:00 am, Beth Ummar, Nabi Yunis: we had two arranged meetings to arrange legal payments, power of attorney and delivery of medicine for someone, which we left at the local grocery.
During the morning there were a few people who had been refused permits by Security. Though we gave them Sylvia’s phone number, we had to tell them to contact her only in July. Apparently the appeal procedure is being changed but they haven’t finalized (or given us) the details yet, so we can’t start any new appeals just now.
30/05/2011 ,Morning
Chaya O., Chana S. (reporting)
7:00 am, Bethlehem – Checkpoint 300: everyone reported that passage was easy and quick. (Admittedly, this was quite late so we don’t know what conditions were like at opening time.)
7:20 am, Hussan: one arranged a meeting on behalf of Sylvia in connection with a man’s appeal. One man approached us, as he was refused a permit by the Security. We gave him Sylvia’s phone number.
8:00 am, Etzion DCL: as we approached the turnstiles there were about 30 people walking up from the main road. By 8:15 when we left there was still no sign of soldiers. We asked one man to phone us if the station wasn’t open by 8:30. As he did not contact us, we assumed that by then it had been opened.
One man did not know by whom he had been refused a permit (though he had approached the Palestinian DCL) and we explained to him the procedure.
Early on, during the morning, three different people phoned and Chaya told them to go to the policeman at the DCL to get their printed record and to go right away while a policeman was still present. (She made sure that there was a policeman on duty). Keeping in contact with them, she found that they had been told to go away and come again another time (or that they should be at the Hebron DCL?). One did in fact leave but, thanks to her persistent calls to the police and their officer in charge, the two who stayed finally at 13:00 were given their papers. (This is of course just the first step – getting information on why their permits have been refused.)
8:25 am, Beit Ummar: We met a client on behalf of Sylvia, in connection with an appeal.
8:45 am, Nabi Yunis: no one approached us.
At 9:00 am we left.
27/05/2011 ,Morning
Efrat B., Claire O. (both reporting)
9:00-11:15
Bethlehem– Checkpoint 300: three checking booths are open. Crossing of Palestinians from Bethlehem is regulated, so that there are no lines and no pressure from the Israeli side; but judging by the shouting of the female soldier on the other side ("hajah! hajah!"), and by the complaint of a Palestinian who told us he had waited one hour and fifteen minutes -- there is much pressure for those coming from Bethlehem.
A very cheery task: we drove to Nabi Yunis to return money to a Palestinian who had transferred it to pay a lawyer to deal with his case. After working in Israel, he had been abruptly informed that his permit is terminated. He turned to Silvia, paid his fee for the lawyer who was appointed, and then just as suddenly before the lawyer had begun dealing with his case, the prohibition was cancelled...!
There are miracles and exceptions which only affirm the sad and frustrating rules. We met a man who can once again hope to provide for his family with dignity.
