Bethlehem and Surrounding, Sunday, 24.7.05 p.m.Observers: Ilana H., Hagit S. (reporting)At 15:45 in Ezion DCO only one person is waiting for a permit promised to him, so he can enter Jerusalem for medical care.In Beit Omar we run an errand and speak with a few people. One tells us that frequently the soldiers disperse gas in the parking area of the checkpoint for no apparent reason. Another 25 years old man without a job or livelihood relays that he has been told of a problem he has with the police, a reason why he cannot get a permit. We have the details, and we will try to find out from Mahar what can be done. A third person, the owner of a big plant nursery on the roadside tells us that a section of his nursery has been destroyed twice, and now he is told to move his nursery 250 meters from the road. All of them express sadness and worry about the future when the wall will encircle them and will make movement to Bethlehem difficult.At the entrance to Halhul we hear about busy traffic of laborers (on Saturday afternoon) who are bypassing the checkpoints in order to get to work in Israel with or without permits. There have no choice; they have to take risks.At Beit Jalla checkpoint an Israeli Palestinian, who enters and exits through this checkpoint to visit his family in the town of Mahallal, praises the soldiers’ behavior here. Vehicle traffic is very scarce.An army jeep parked on the hill above the obstructions at Al Khadr observes the area. Another jeep is parked next to the bus station where the tunnels road begins, but we do not see any detainees. Two border policemen are sitting opposite from the entrance to Tantur, as usual.Around 18:15 at Checkpoint 300 there are almost no pedestrians. Vehicle traffic is slow. There is one lane for both directions. Two detainees are waiting in the shed for investigation, and many policemen are preventing us from speaking with their detainees what so ever. The detainees, seemingly for security, are an employer (Jewish) and a laborer (Palestinian). We also meet a representative of the Palestinian bourgeoisie who tells us about his good livelihood and close contacts with Jews; yet he harshly criticizes the way the checkpoint is run. He speaks of the humiliating and arbitrary treatment toward a highly respected person like himself, as well as toward ordinary people, not in his position, who struggle to make a living.