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Bethlehem, Etzion DCL, Sun 15.6.08, Afternoon

Observers: Hadas B.A., Shlomit S., Yael S. (Reporting). Translation: Jonathan M.
Jun-15-2008
| Afternoon

 

and CP 300: When we arrived we were told that Tedsa worked very efficiently until noon time. There were only forty people waiting in the waiting room. There was one person waiting for the General Security Service (GSS). He arrived at noon and was called in within an hour.

 

Have you heard of the law banning the repairing of cars in the C areas?

So today we met a lawyer who came with his client and said that the army arrived at his mechanic shop and impounded four vehicles without giving any receipts. This seemed so serious that I immediately called Abu Villan, but then we found the number of the Hebron Police department and the place where the vehicles were taken and called them. The Israeli owners must contact the police and pay a fine for fixing cars at a Palestinian mechanic. And it’s all legal.

 

Bethlehem, CP 300: The strangest story of the day is told to us by a Palestinian who tells us that his ID and magnetic card were confiscated at CP. According to his account he arrived in the morning and like hundreds of Palestinians offered his identification card and his magnetic card, but these were never returned to him. Confiscating an ID is a serious matter and so I called the humanitarian center and the checkpoint office to try and figure out what happened.

 

Initially I was told at the checkpoint that no such thing has happened. I called them again and asked them to perform a more through investigation. Since all activity at the checkpoint is recorded the policemen scanned the videos and indeed the person arrived and complained that his ID was confiscated. There is no video of him giving the ID and so, really, it was a waste of police time.

 

16:00 PM, Etzion DCL:  Meanwhile, at the DCL, the line hardly moves. There were forty people waiting. We left for a while to Beit-Omar and when we returned a little after five there were still 28 people waiting. At 17:30 a soldier came out and said that that was it and they were closed for the day. At 17:40 the last Palestinian came out with the coveted magnetic card.

28 Palestinians went home after another day of wasting time.

 

18:00 PM, Bethlehem, Rachel Crossing: We thought that there would be nothing to see at CP 300, but there were still Palestinians coming home. Two checking booths were open and a line of people stood in front of them. A private security guard kept the lines organized and the waiting time was about 15 minutes.

Hadas said that fifteen minutes of waiting every day is a lot.

  • Bethlehem (300)

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    • Located adjacent to the Separation Wall ("Jerusalem Wrap") at the north entrance to Bethlehem, this checkpoint cuts off Bethlehem and the entire West Bank from East Jerusalem, with all the serious implications for health services, trade, education, work and the fabric of life. The checkpoint is manned by the Border police and private security companies. It is an extensive infrastructure barrier and is designated as a border terminal, open 24 hours a day for foreign tourists. Israeli passport holders are not allowed to pass to Bethlehem, and Palestinian residents are not allowed to enter Jerusalem, except those with entry permits to Israel and East Jerusalem residents. Israeli buses are allowed to travel to Bethlehem only through this checkpoint.
      The checkpoint, which demonstrated harsh conditions of crowding and extreme passage delays for years, started employing advanced electronic identification posts and has upgraded its gates' system as of the middle of 2019  - and conditions improved.
      Adjacent to the checkpoint, in an enclosure between high walls and another passage, is the historic Rachel's Tomb, which is now embedded within a concrete fortified building. It contains prayer and study complexes for Jews only, as well as a residential complex. updated  November 2019   .
  • Etzion DCO

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    •   serves residents of Bethlehem and surrounding villages who need magnetic cards, work permits for Israel, permits for one-time entry for religious or health reasons, various police permits, etc.
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