Bethlehem 29/4/2004 Watchers: Hadas B., Inbal M. (reporting), a guest Bethlehem CP. We arrived at 6:40. We saw a BP officer running to Tantur and grabbing two women who were already on the road. They joined 3 other women detained at the roadside by 2 female BP officers; none of the women had a permit and one didn’t have an ID. While waiting for a jeep bringing the detention forms, two men were detained and immediately released. To our surprise, all the policemen had identifying tags. We drove to Bethlehem 300. Five detainees and one woman were sitting in the sun facing the CP. A closure is in effect until Sunday, we’re told. Only diplomats, “humanitarian” cases and hospital workers are allowed to cross. No food supplies allowed. A man (not a detainee) said he was waiting for workers from Beruna (part of Jerusalem) who have permits to enter and even stay overnight in Israel, but in vain. An hour later, 5 women come on foot, plus another one with 2 children. The latter is quickly released. 5 young men soon join the group. In the pedestrians’ shed, about 10 people are waiting to cross to Jerusalem. A lieutenant colonel orders Yoav to stop talking to us. Yoav approaches us, visibly upset, explaining that there is a warning of a car bomb on its way to the CP, so we have to back off. A soldier covers the southern area, looking through the sights of his gun. The situation is very tense. 8:00. We drive to Gilo. Gilo CP is right behind the two tunnels when you turn left to Bet Jalla. Plastic barriers block the road; about 20 cars wait at the crossroads. Exit is free, entry allowed only to Bet Jalla residents. (Israeli Jews are free to go in both directions). A few minutes later Bus No. 21 arrived and its passengers were checked. A UN bus was already standing nearby waiting for the soldier’s instructions. The passengers — all residents of the territories, but with permits — said they’d been waiting for an hour and half. 10 minutes later, they were allowed to cross to Jerusalem, without our intervention. The area is manned by Nahal battalion 932 (“Granite”). One of them explained that the reason for the strictures is “hot” warnings of terrorist attacks in Jerusalem. Ambulances and medical supplies are allowed through.We continued to DCO Bet Jalla, where Sector A starts. There’s a permanent BP camp there with Nahal soldiers reinforcing security. El Khader, 8:30. Hardly any cabs. We saw an ambulance and a MSF vehicle heading south. We were told that yesterday the soldiers tied 2 men from Hussan and kept them handcuffed for hours. The soldiers claimed that the men had thrown rocks at a settler’s vehicle. The soldiers arrive at El Khader at 14:00. A jeep blocks the exit to Hussan preventing pedestrians from crossing. This may explain the absence of cabs. A few meters inside the road, on a dirt mound, a soldier checks people’s IDs and bags and lets them pass, if they need to go home (depending on the place of residence in their IDs.) It is later explained that this is the procedure now: No movement in or out of Bethlehem except “to go home”. This excludes residents of Hebron (and neighboring villages such as El Arub and Halhul) who are not allowed to go North. “Humanitarian” cases and school children do cross however. The soldiers here belong to an auxiliary company of the Nahal and the commander’s last name is Pik. Gush Ezion, 9:00. Very few pedestrians arrive. They are checked and allowed to go north. Palestinian cars are detained, while Israeli ones go unimpeded. A few Palestinian ambulances are detained by “blue” traffic patrol for some violation (no license or insurance, no safety belts etc). We contact Ibrahim from PHR and after an hour, the ambulance is allowed to go. Not clear if our intervention in this instance helped or not. About 15 minutes after our arrival, a large group of people arrived heading north; they included a dozen small children and elderly people. They were detained southwest of the intersection. The soldiers insisted they stand in neat rows before processing them. Our intervention brought Captain Igor (commander of the company stationed near Ezion Battalion) with some reinforcement. The soldiers immediately began processing the detainees, showing special consideration to the elderly, allowing some detainees to continue on their way, while others were sent back south. They responded to our requests politely and efficiently. Igor agreed that both the Palestinians and the soldiers would benefit from a water faucet. We left an hour and a half later, when most of the people had been processed. In the meantime, we heard on the phone that at El Khader the soldiers were detaining people. We arrived there at 10:40 and found a few indifferent and aggressive soldiers from the “auxiliary company”. A jeep was still blocking the exit from Hussan.