Bethlehem 9/3/2004 Watchers: Rina R., Rachel A. Yael B. Neta A., two guests, still photographers Bethlehem Checkpoint. Almost empty. Very few vehicles enter Bethlehem. Few people come out of Bethlehem. About 10 detainees stand with their faces to the wall, from our arrival until our departure. When Zohar, the checkpoint commander, came on the shift, he allowed the detainees to turn around and sit down. The previous commander said the order was to make them stand; he’s only following orders. Besides, they don’t want the detainees to see the checkpoint procedures. We asked if they were afraid the Palestinians would take over their jobs.. El-Khader. A lot of traffic. In Hussan, the closure was lifted 2 days ago! But then we found out that there is in fact a closure. Even Palestinians with work permits to go from Bethlehem to Jerusalem are barred from crossing (this explains the sparse traffic in Bethlehem, even though the BP did not mention the fact.) Business as usual… Yuval from the Center for the Defense of the Individual could not say how long the closure would last. How can a Palestinian who hears on the radio that the closure has been lifted know that eventually he’ll be turned back? In the meantime he takes a cab from Hebron, wasting time and money. Yuval had no answer. This needs looking into.