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Bethlehem, Etzion DCL, Mon 24.11.08, Afternoon

Place: Bethlehem (300) Etzion DCO
Observers: Shulamit S., Yael S. (reporting). A Guest
Nov-24-2008
| Afternoon

   

14:00 PM, Etzion DCL:  in contrast to my last reports everything this time was very well organized, soldier were polite and efficient.

750 was the lowest number of the day and when we arrive number 802 came out- meaning 52 people had been dealt with, not including those who came to renew their finger prints and permits.

There were four cases that needed more attention:

  1. A woman and her child who didn't have a number for the magnetic card.
  2. A person that was summoned to the GSS and hadn't been attended to.
  3. a 74 year old man that paid to get to Mecca and was sent back through Alenbi bridge.
  4. A person that was prevented passage by the GSS and couldn’t get his magnetic card renewed. 

At about 15:30 some officers arrived, among them was the head of the DCL, they took care of each one of those cases.

-The woman and her child came in and immediately got out with what she needed.

-The person waiting for the GSS was called in.

-The man who wanted to get to Mecca was sent to the DCL at Hebron, the area to which he 
 belonged, to take care of the preventions. He had spent the entire day at Etzion, and only at  
 three o'clock he found out that his lawyer's advice got him to waist his day at the wrong  place.

     -The person who was prevented passage was told he had to take care of his problem at the
       Palestinian DCL.


A person came to meet a group of Palestinian  detainees that had been released after spending a week under interrogation at the detention installation by the DCL. The one that gave him and the group the explanations was a woman soldier. Shlomit later praised her for her polite behavior towards the Palestinians and her efficiency.
We found out that it is possible to talk quietly and listen without yelling, that it is possible to be polite and that the soldiers are capable to answer questions. We saw that rudeness isn't a necessity at the DCL.

  

It was the first time since we had been coming to the DCL that such a big group of Palestinians had been released after 7 days of interrogation. They were split into two groups according to their villages, 10 people from one village and 13 – from another village. All in all about 30 people were arrested a week ago from two villages. More than half of them were released after a week and no other actions against them will be taken. They all had to pay 23,000 Shekels for bail,  a nice profit for one day.

Does any one have any figures regarding the number for detainees, the number of days in detention and the bail money they hand in?

  • Bethlehem (300)

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    • Located adjacent to the Separation Wall ("Jerusalem Wrap") at the north entrance to Bethlehem, this checkpoint cuts off Bethlehem and the entire West Bank from East Jerusalem, with all the serious implications for health services, trade, education, work and the fabric of life. The checkpoint is manned by the Border police and private security companies. It is an extensive infrastructure barrier and is designated as a border terminal, open 24 hours a day for foreign tourists. Israeli passport holders are not allowed to pass to Bethlehem, and Palestinian residents are not allowed to enter Jerusalem, except those with entry permits to Israel and East Jerusalem residents. Israeli buses are allowed to travel to Bethlehem only through this checkpoint.
      The checkpoint, which demonstrated harsh conditions of crowding and extreme passage delays for years, started employing advanced electronic identification posts and has upgraded its gates' system as of the middle of 2019  - and conditions improved.
      Adjacent to the checkpoint, in an enclosure between high walls and another passage, is the historic Rachel's Tomb, which is now embedded within a concrete fortified building. It contains prayer and study complexes for Jews only, as well as a residential complex. updated  November 2019   .

  • Etzion DCO

    See all reports for this place
    •   serves residents of Bethlehem and surrounding villages who need magnetic cards, work permits for Israel, permits for one-time entry for religious or health reasons, various police permits, etc.
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