Bethlehem, Thursday 22.6.06, AfternoonObservers: Netta B and Ruti R (reporting)14.45- At the entrance to road number 60 (in front of the buss station): A BP jeep was parked in front of the station, four soldiers were in it and behind it a young Palestinian stood, he was detained because he didn’t have a permit to pass. The soldiers said they would send him back, they know how much time they are allowed to keep him there, he will be released according to the regulations. We asked if they would give him water (it was a hot day) they answered (“What did you say your name was?”)and that of course they would give him water, and asked if we thought they weren’t humane. 15:00 Ezyon DCO:There were about 12 men sitting on line to the (closed) carousel, they said they were sitting there for an hour. An hour before they were told that in couple of minutes the place would be opened. It was hot in the shed and an annoying sound came from the loudspeakers came from the other side. Two minutes after we arrived, the carousel was opened and people went in. Before we left the shed we met major Eyal with a soldier who escorted him, it was 15:15, and he asked that we leave the shed since they were about to close the gate leading to the DCO. It is true that the DCO is open till 16:00 but he said that they won’t hand out any more permits from now on, and that no more people were to come. They, Major Eyal and his assistant turned around and kept on taking care of the people there. We asked if it’s possible to stop the noise for the benefit of the people who were still in there, the noise stopped immediately. Major Eyal told us several times that we are naive, too naive. At 15:30 the gate closed. More people came, at least 8 people. It seems that they could have come earlier, but most of them were late because they came from work, and for some reason they couldn’t take a cab and arrive sooner. The soldier escorting major Eyal displayed a lack of motivation in his treatment of the people. Some got their permits, and others were told to come back on Sunday. We talked to M. from the heath department, and he told us that a person who went through an operation in Hadasa without a permit, and was invited for another operation for which he needs a new permit, has to have a medical document from Hadasa so that they can be sure that he isn’t a terrorist, and it doesn’t matter who many times he is sent back and forth, or how many new appointments he makes for the surgery. Major Eyal told us that in order to receive an entrance permit for medical treatments, the person should come to the DCO two weeks in advance, so the they have time to check all that needs checking. He complained that they always come at the last moment. But those who apply, receive permits for one or two days, it’s not obvious that the DCO would actually give permits two weeks in advance and not likely that people will believe they get a permit that is dated so far ahead of time, as usually the permits are given directly before the date necessary. We should find out if in fact such a predated permit is available. At 15:30 we talked to a man that was standing near the entrance to the secret service, and asked him if we could help. We found out that his name was Gamil Aisa Unes Za’akik from Beit Omar, and he has been waiting at the DCO since 12:00, his and his son’s IDs were taken from them. He went to the police and was told that they were at the DCO, and since then he had been waiting there with his friend. During the 2.5 hours that we spent with them we found out that at 3:30 AM “caption Gidon” escorted by soldiers entered his house and took his family out (7 people), and said they were searching the house. We also found out that his son was arrested by the secret services and was sentenced (??) for 3 months. He didn’t know why. At 05:30 the father was told that his son would be brought and he better tell the son that if he has anything to say to Sabak he better say it. The son was brought there and the father wanted to speak to him, but they didn’t let him, and from a distance of about 20 meters, he said hello to his son and the son answered: “hello father”, and was taken away. The soldiers left them at 6:30 and didn’t give them their IDs back. He called the Centre for the Defence of the Individual at 11:00 but didn’t receive an answer. We addressed the soldier at the entrance and after a while he agreed to try and help. After an investigation, which took about an hour, we learned that the IDs weren’t there, and Gamil was referred back to the police to sign a form that says he had lost his ID, and to return on Sunday. Gamil said that without the ID he can’t leave the house and his son, who is a student, can’t get to the university. We addressed the IDF Humanitarian Centre and were treated nicely by a soldier named Inbal. She told us that the Centre for the Defence of the Individual had already informed them of the incident, but as I mentioned, when we called there was no answer at the Moked. She called the Shabak at DCO Ezyon and was told that the IDs weren’t there. Afterwards she called DCO Hebron but the IDs weren’t there either. Inbal understood Gamil’s difficulties and was very pleasant and did all she could to help. 17:45:The phone at the gate rang and the soldiers from the inside asked for the ID numbers (numbers that were already given several times). Inbal called to tell us that the IDs were in a drawer at the DCO the whole time. So we waited for the IDs. After 15 minutes an officer arrived at the gate, we saw the IDs in his hands, he started a conversation with the guards, which continued for ten minutes. I asked him when he would give back the IDs and he replied by making a sign with his hands of us to wait. It’s hard to describe the humiliation that Gamil Aisa had to go through, and how he said thank you about 5 times, until he received his IDs, after waiting for 6 hours. The officer (we don’t know his name) told us that he doesn’t understand how those IDs suddenly appeared in his office. The whole story has nothing to do with the territory under his responsibility. Indeed, as major Eyal said, we are very naive, but obviously without our naive interference and our presence, the IDs wouldn’t have been so “easily” returned (if they would have been returned at all). The wonderful Inbal called as while we were heading back, to find out if the ordeal was over. Because it was so late we didn’t go to Nashnash and CP number 300.