Bethlehem and Surroundings– Sunday, June 5,05 AM Observers: Sylvia P, Ofra B, Chana A (reporting) Two guests from the U.S. 6:45 Bethlehem CP 300: Quiet. Two detainees behind the cement blocks, unreachable. The line waiting for entrance to Jerusalem is not very long. The commander, Zohar (Azhar?) is polite, but insistent that we clear out from the sterile area. 7:10 Al Khader: Lots of people, taxis, booths and and an improvised coffee house. Summer vacation has begun and two little boys, brothers of nine and eleven, hover around us, asking for money. The vacation, three months long, will not add to their well-being. Our stay at Al Khader is longer than we planned and we reach the DCL at Ezyon at 9:00 9:00 Ezyon DCL: Quite a few people waiting. A German group from the church at the sixth station of the Via dolorosa (a middle aged man and two nuns) approaches us. They have a worker from Beth Sahur who is an expert at restoration but can’t get a permit. Sylvia instructs them where to go (employment office at the central bus station) and what to fill out on the form there.They are visibly dismayed. A couple, obviously well to do, from Bethlehem is waiting to get their magnetic card. They speak fluent English. They have a factory for olive wood souvenirs which they export to Israel and abroad. They complain about feeling hemmed in as in a cage in their own home city. Just having returned from a trip to Spain where they felt free and unfettered, they have a hard time readjusting. Their daughter, a student of journalism at Bir Zeit comes home only rarely because of the terrible trip between the two cities. Asked what the younger children do during the three months’ vacation, the mother says: swimming pool, clubs, etc. This also is a West Bank story. The police window was open (Sunday morning!) and people were getting the usual run around. But Maher, when called, was polite but non-committal. We met our friend from last week, Abdul Ftah Mahmoud Nejaja who is still waiting for a renewal of his permit to stay with his family.