Bethlehem and Surroundings Monday PM, 3.9.07 Observers: Yael I., Ruth O. and Ilana D. (reporting) From 3:00 till 6:00 PMHussan, Beitar Illit, Etzion DCL and Rachel Terminal We drove into Hussan from the East and were AMAZED at the huge moat that has been dug to accommodate the road for the Palestinians who will be driving many meters below the settlers. It remains to be seen what this enormous excavation will look like after it starts raining. Then we went into Beitar Illit to inspect the new neighborhoods under construction and noticed Border Police patrols through the city.There were only a few people at the Etzion DCL. One man in a wheelchair has an appointment in Hadassah tomorrow for a court case and his brother who accompanied him claimed that the Palestinian DCO had told them that the papers were awaiting them in Etzion. He had been waiting for some hours. After shouting to the soldier who had disappeared (there is no civil way to communicate with anyone on the other side of the turnstiles), a Palestinian waiting inside assisted in drawing the attention of the soldier to our pleas. We then tried a few times in vain to contact someone by phone and finally heard that the papers had not yet arrived and that the man should return in the morning – it took some more nudging from our part until Tadesse was willing to deal with the man in the wheelchair and apparently found a key to open the access for handicapped. A man who was refused on security grounds tried to bypass Sylvia from whom he had not yet received a reply.Hundreds of workers pushed at the two windows in the Rachel terminal, but shortly after a call to Ronny another window was opened and the queue started moving more quickly. The heaps of garbage on the street near the bus stops are growing steadily.