Bethlehem and Surrounding, Friday 26.5.06, morningObservers: Effi B., Magdalena H., (reporting)Beit Ummar: We delivered the envelope to the grocery. At the entrance of the village it is very quite today. No soldiers and nearly no residents. At the vegetable shop we heard a story: yesterday four soldier beat up ten year old school boys. One of them resisted and cried and consistently claimed that he didn’t do anything wrong. The soldiers continued to beat him; they wanted to see him cry. The soldiers were with a jeep, but the vegetable shop family didn’t take the lisence number.El Arub: There was a Hummer opposite the northern entrance and orange coloured rocks arranged around the side. There was also a Hummer at the south entrance. Opposite it stands a very new Watchtower.Ezyon traffic circle CP: Manned by soldiers, but they did not check the passing cars. Ezyon DCO was closed.El Khad’r: South, stunk: the ground was covered with Petrol. The market is very big but today it was mostly closed. We got a lot of complains again about rejections of applications for magnetic cards and traffic tickets from the police. Each story we hear of life in the occupied territories makes Kafka’s stories seem insigificant.El Khad’r North is completly empty of people and cars. One jeep stands on the hill and south of the entrance,next to the road construction. MOre and more fences are being built. There was no one to ask, but it looked like there are private security companies patroling the area. Tunnel CP: traffic moves fast, nearly no checking. The constructions in the area are increasingly destroying the landscape.Bethlehem Terminal: Two lines are open and ten people at each line pass quickly. We were told that in the mornings it is impossible at the terminal. Many people, even those with all the right permits, prefer to avoid the terminal and go over the hills, taking the risk of being caught by soldiers, just to get to work on time.