Zeitim CP, The Container, Al-EzariyaTuesday, 18.07.2006, AM Michaela R., Judy S., Yael L.-J. (repporting) Zeitim CP: 06:50 – The terminal was almost empty. The few Palestinians who were crossing it were needing only about 3 minutes. The people we were asking about the trmendous change since last week, where more than 100 at a time were jostling through the checkpoint, gave different explanations: people were held back at The Container, where nobody could pass, a high ranking officer took care for fast dealing, and our presence.The Container: 07:15 – Coming from Bethlehem some cars were waiting, while those to Bethlehem were passing without longer stops. This was changing at the time of our presence, in a way that sometimes there stood a queue on the Bethlehem side reaching until the curve. On the detainee corner were sitting 10 men. An Israeli constructor – building the swimming pool of Kedar – was waiting for them. After his intervention did not help to get them out, the “rafshaz” (rosh bitachon shotef ziburi) of Kedar appeared at 07:45. From now on he was sitting among the soldiers, but the 10 workers were only released at the time we left at 08:30. There were other 4 men who were passing after an Israeli spoke to the soldiers. There were 2 busses which had to wait 11 minutes for passing, another one from Beit Sahour half an hour. An ambulance got handled fast. A representative of the DCO was seen telephoning with IDs in his hands only at 07:50. After one borderpolicemen had tried to send us out of the checkpoint – which in their eyes has exactly the size that outside this kind of checkpoint area at which one cannot observe anything. The commander K. came over to discuss the matter. He wanted to see our IDs We were leaving at 08:30.Al Ezariya: 08:45 – At this time a row of three to four lanes was moving through the flying checkpoint, among them the white and blue Arab busses from Jerusalem. One jeep got stopped until we left after 09:00. At this time only a few cars were passing, but the checkpoint was not yet dissolved as usual at 09:00.