Bethlehem and Surroundings – Sunday May 14, 2006, AMObservers: Ofra B and Sylvia P (reporting)6:45 Bethlehem Checkpoint: After seeing for many weeks a deserted checkpoint we found lots of taxis. But very few people were leaving the checkpoint. We stood, as usual, near the checking boxes. But nobody was crossing. Suddenly a soldier came and we heard them talking about opening another queue. When we asked, the soldier said that while they open a new “sleeve” they have to stop the crossing.After a few minutes people started crossing again. But the flow was still slow.7:20 Al Khadr: There was a jeep and several soldiers going around. We stood at some distance and watched. They didn’t check ID’s.We approached them and asked what are they doing there. They said that there was stone throwing in the area in the last few days. We said to them that they are the ultimate invitation for stone throwing.After a while they left.8:00 The road to Beit Omar: We needed to handle some documents from Haya so we traveled till Beit Omar. We saw several army vehicles and many soldiers patrolling the road.8:20 Ezyon: Since they started issuing numbers last Sunday, the situation is less chaotic. People sit in the waiting area and don’t push one another against the turnstiles. Nevertheless, the situation is still very bad. There is no mechanism to get a number for the following days: so people come at 3 or 4 in the morning, get number 71 or 72 in the list prepared by the people, wait until the numbers are handled and then has to go home and come again on the morrow at the same time and may be on the morrow. This could be solved if numbers are handled to everyone wanting them every few hours and then people can check what is the number in the counter and come according to it. So, they must come at 3 or 4 in the morning only once or may be stop coming so early. This suggestion got the answer that this doesn’t exist in the Ministry of Interior offices – they give numbers only for the day. It is true but the situation there is not of such excess demand.The magnetic cards production is very slow. Moreover, contrary to the past, they take fingerprints and photos from EVERYONE, also those that are prevented by the security or by the police. At the end of the process they notify the person that he is not getting his magnetic card since he is prevented. This way, they will have a complete database of the population. They take cynically advantage of the hunger – the desperation of the people to have a magnetic card in order to get a permit – and they will have complete records of everyone.We watched another torture of the population. As we know, after the closure all the permits are obsolete. So, all the workers must take new permits. We found that there was a new regulation: ONLY THE ISRAELI EMPLOYER could take permits.Employers are busy and less desperate than the workers. They are not ready to come and wait in these awful conditions. And some of them must come really from far away. So the workers waited outside and every employer that came took with him several old permits in order to get the new ones for people whose employer didn’t come.At some point we asked in the DCO what is the matter with this awful regulation and we got the answer that it is not their responsibility – it is the responsibility of the employment bureau there.So we started making some telephone calls and after 15 minutes or so the regulation changed – thanks God