Bethlehem and vicinity, Wednesday PM, 25.1.06 – Election Day.Observers: Maya BH., Daniela G. (reporting)Tunnel rd. CP – 13:00: The passengers of a Jerusalem bound but have been taken off it and their papers are inspected by a blue policeman. Some 5-6 soldiers are huddled nearby, uninvolved.Ezyon DCL – 13:15: No one in the shed besides a young man who is waiting patiently, presumably for the GSS, but we are unsure for he speaks no Hebrew or English. We ask the soldier on the roof whether the place has been empty all day, perhaps because of the elections, but he answers that there were people earlier and in numbers similar to a regular day. Indeed, people trickle in, but unlike every other day, the officer is the one attending to them at the window, and he is efficient and fast. As we are about to leave, a man asks us for the forms regarding the GSS refused. We provide him with two.Bet Ummar: Soldiers in the pillbox, an army vehicle at the entrance to the village. In it, an officer and two soldiers. The officer knows who we are, is very amicable but would rather we did not go into the village since it is a hostile one, according to him. Ezyon CP: No soldiers checking southbound traffic, 3 of them monitoring vehicles traveling north. Again, an officer is among them, he too is friendly and communicative. We ask about a large new sign that has been put up for those northbound, saying that this road is intended for Israelies only and that it is also strictly forbidden to drive a non-Israeli lacking a permit in an Israeli car. The officer says the sign was put up two days ago. However, he goes by the orders he gets from his superiors and today the word is to make things easier for the Palestinians so they can vote. When we inquire how the Palestinians are to travel say, from Bet Ummar to Al Kahdre tomorrow and in the future, he doesn’t really know, suggests they use sideways. Al Kahdre: The place is relatively vacant, so much so that we could easily drive our car up to the stands at the end of the parking lot. People say it because of the elections.CP 300: Once more, it is an officer who greets us at the entrance to the terminal, and he too is affable. He also reports less people crossing into Jerusalem and back today.