Bethlehem and vicinity, Wednesday PM, 18.1.06Observers: Maya BH, Daniela G (reporting).Tunnel road CP: A Jerusalem bound bus is being checked, there are many soldiers standing around it but they seem to have nothing to do with it.Ezyon DCL: It was raining cats and dogs and there was a fog all over. The driver of the transit who had brought some people over immediately asks for our assistance. There was a woman with a young girl and 3 other people waiting for permits on humanitarian grounds – they needed to get to the hospital. They had been waiting for quite a while in the dismal freezing shed, could we call someone? The soldiers in the window did not pick up the phone, neither did the officer Amir, the one replacing Motti. Our last resort, Eyal, the commander, did answer and said he would send his officer down. Nothing happened for at least another half hour. In the meantime some 6-7 additional men came in, so it was Eyal again. He said the computer was giving them problems. We conveyed the information to the very patient Tasrich seekers and they accepted it humbly. At least they knew efforts were being made on their behalf. Those who came in later for magnetic cards were all sent away empty handed, but strangely enough some were told to come back in a week’s time, other only in a month. They too were grateful for our taking an interest though we could offer no explanation. It was so cold that we left after a few more minutes, but lo and behold, on our way back Eyal calls us to inform that the computers were back on and that every one of the humanitarian cases had been taken care of. We had more good news on the way back. Sylvia called and said that the woman whose case we had passed on to her a few weeks ago because the woman had been refused a magnetic card, could go back to the DCL and get it.The blockade left of the road to Efrata: 2006, and there are two petrol tankers transferring petrol back to back.Bet Jalla CP: Still unmanned, traffic flows in both directions.