From Bethlehem to Halhul-Hebron bridge, Monday, 20.9.04, AMObservers: Hava S. and Yehudit E. (reporting) Bethlehem checkpoint:7:00 Little traffic and very few pedestrians. 10 women are in the detainees’ shed, some standing for lack of places to sit. They were probably caught on their way to Jerusalem to look for work. Students on their way to Bethlehem University, are not allowed to pass.7:15 Another group of about 10 men is brought to the shed. Al Khadr:7:15 Barbed wire is streched across the road, maybe because of shooting during the night from Beit Sahur to Har Homa. Pedestrians are allowed into Al Khadr, but not out. The way this order is circumvented is obvious when looking at the vineyards along the closed road. The taxis are parked along the main road to Hebron and Husan. 7:30 The western exit from Husan is open to both cars and pedestrians. Ezyon checkpoint:7:40 Deserted, free passage. Al ‘Arrub:The entrance is open.At Beit Ummar soldiers check transit car which are free to go on within a few minutes. Road No. 35:8:20 Halhul-Hebron bridge is closed to all traffic and pedestrians, but less than 100 m from the bridge there is free passage across the road of pedestrians and even cars. Ezyon District Coordination and Liaison Office (DCL):8:30 About 30 people are waiting in the shed, among them a few who wait for the policeman with documents proving that they have paid their traffic fines. The policeman who is supposed to be there between Sunday and Wednesday, is absent. A small notice says that he won’t be there today, but only tomorrow. It turns out, after talking to the said policeman that he is involved in some other task. This dependence of the Palestinians on a clerk who does not keep his office hours that are too few to start with, is only a symptom of the role of the DCL network in controlling the occupied population. The X Junction checkpoint:9:20 Cars (probably only of Bethlehem residents) are allowed to pass in both directions. Bethlehem checkpoint:9:40 The detainees that we saw earlier on are not in the shed any more. Others, about 10 men, are there. According to the soldiers, they had been there for 20 minutes and will be released as soon as their IDs are checked.Surprisingly, there were lots of high ranking blue policemen at the checkpoint and at least 10 police vans. It turned out that this was the convoy of the Cabalists, with or without M.