Bethlehem and Surroundings PM 19.2.06 Observers: Ilana, H., Irit, Ilana, H. (reporter) G. (guest)14:30:We drive through the tunnel road. The traffic is lighter than usual. Up until we reach El Hader, there are no Palestinian vehicles, probably because of the new regulations. El Hader:Immediately when we arrive, a few people come up to us and ask us to deal with various problems: “security” restrictions, police fines etc. We write down the names and details of those persons we think we can help. From our experience, it seems that the number of people that turn to us is increasing – people think that Machsom-Watch can help with personal problems. I feel a bit like a civil servant – this is an uncomfortable feeling, especially when people say to us, again and again “I’m clean”, “I don’t have any files on me”, “I don’t make any problems”É Go tell them that you yourself feel like making problems, and even to be “dirty” where “being clean” means acceptance of the ugly reality which is difficult to stand. DCO Ezyon:The checkpoint is under “restoration”, and we didn’t see any people. They are working calmly until this “wonderful” place will be completed. As we drive south from the DCO we see that the traffic is very light. On the other hand, there are many military jeeps and police cars on the road. Every few kilometers, we see another jeep. The police stop drivers for inspection, and maybe also to give them fines. At the entrance to Beit Omer, people tell us that the situation lately is “quiet” with no special problems, and that the entrance into the village is almost always open. The soldiers manning the watch tower cannot be seen. As we drive north again, we stop at the entrance to El Arub, in order to see what the soldiers are doing at the entrance to the refugee camp. Three armed soldiers are standing there, and one has his finger on the trigger with the rifle pointing forward – pointing twice at the building opposite him and twice at the youth and children who are coming out of or entering the alley-ways in the village. They stood there for quite a while. People in the village tell us that they are there, for the last few days, day and night. Sometimes they throw tear-gas or shoot rubber bullets. Two youths have been injured from this. One is gravely injured in his jaw and he is hospitalized in Hadassah and the other – whom we saw – a youth aged about 14, who has a huge cast on his arm up to his shoulder. Small children, almost babies, came out of one of the alleys and came up to the soldiers, and started to tease them, while the older youth chased them away. We entered one of the alleys, and immediately many people and children surrounded us, whereupon three soldiers arrived as well, with their rifles at the ready. We hurried to exit, but remained standing outside the fence. The people told us that the situation is especially bad in the mornings, when the pupils go out to the road in order to travel to their schools, and the soldiers confront them in various ways. Also, they told us that on several occasions they close the steel gate, which was erected on the single route which is open to vehicles. Perhaps it would be better if Machson-Watch observers drive a ways south from the DCO Ezyon and stop at the entrance to El Arub, since there seems to be increased tension and military presence there. On the way back, we stop at checkpoint 300: the hour is late, but still workers are coming back from work to their home. They passed by without any problems. In the place where there was once a checkpoint, two or three persons are being detained by the police – because of the dark, we were not able to see how many there were. The police didn’t let us come close nor to speak with them, and asked us rudely to go away. And we did go, perhaps because we felt we couldn’t help, or perhaps because after what we heard and saw in El Arub, we didn’t have any more strength.