El Khadr, Ezion, and more 02-02-04 p.m.Observers: Y.Sh.(Reporting) and Sh.Sh There was a total closure around Bethlehem, even though none had been announced. El Khader Since last Thursday, the entry to El Khadr was closed by a pile of dirt which became a pile of mud after the rains, and barbed wire. There were no soldiers there when we arrived. Women with bundles climed over the slippery “hills”, men in their best clothing walked through the mud, and children and young people, celebrating holiday visits trudged through the mud en route to visit their relatives for The Big Holiday. The “market” was closed and taxi drivers told us about military actions at the refugee camp Ayyda (near Rachel’s tomb).. We contacted B’tzelem. On the news broadcast a half hour later, it was already reported. We picked up A who told us that even though he has a permit to enter Israel — he showed it to us– he is not allowed to pass through any checkpoint when he wishes to visit his family in Jerusalem in honor of the holiday. We contacted the humanitarian hotline of the army. DCO Bethlehem – There were about 10 people who were awaiting magnetic cards. There was not a line. We complained to the police and were told that the matter would be looked into next week. Since we took A with us, we drove by way of Ephrat to Herodian to see what the situation was with the checkpoints there. The same story repeated itself. we passed deserted checkpoints (the Palestinians understood that there was no chance to pass?) There were no detainees and the soldiers were courteous and pleasant. We then got to Wadi Nar -the container checkpoint, from the south. The soldiers jumped up and started to question how we got there. We were detaind for coming from the south! We were told that Wadi Nar was closed since last Thursday. As soon as they got the orders, they sent back all the people to where they had come — including those undergoing inspection. Garbage trucks were given permission to pass- today. Palestinians were moving via the nearby wadis. We did not see detainees when we attired. A number of people with permits were stopped and we were not able to deal with them (as we were detsained ourselves). The border policemen related to us in a reasonable manner, and after we wre released they wanted to provide an escort for us to Maaleh Adumim, but we preferred to leave then. The three of us were held up for 3 and a half hours, and I don’t understand why we were released, but it was not pleasant. We went back to Jerusalem and A went to his home in Hebron. Solidarity is an important thing.