Bethlehem, Etzion DCL, Thu 26.3.09, Afternoon
Etzion DCL: the situation at the DCL is routine.
On this occasion, except those waiting for the secret service to be interrogated, there was no line at all.It looks like the bureaucracy works extraordinarily well compared to the Palestinian DCL and according to the Palestinians nearly no requests for health certificates or entry permits are asked for – all these are taken care of on the Palestinian side. Also renewal of magnetic cards is finished (until the next point of friction?) and renewal of fingerprints, about which I hear only when persons are sent away from ‘regulated’ passage points in order to renew fingerprints (Basma in Arabic).
Those waiting for interrogation are in part summoned for the second time, ordered at night from their homes to appear in the morning, and they do come – that is routine here again and again and so we find people from different villages, from different strata and functions who are summoned for interrogations of all kinds by the secret service.
We have conversations with them.
Calls to the humanitarian desk give a certain speeding-up of the interrogations.In fact, I have nothing to report – half an hour, an hour of conversation about our human situation, about the difference between racism and occupation, about education and about hope and despair.And the world goes on revolving.From Rachel passage, Bethlehem – Checkpoint 300 (Gilo checkpoint): we (our watch) only receive reports – and in the afternoon no reports or complaints about delays come in.
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 .
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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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