Bethelehem area, Wednesday PM, 7.3.07Observers: DG, LS, MBH (reporting)Al Nashash: Now that it has been opened for passage to Bethelehem, there is a sign warning that “You are now entering the PA” at the very entrance to the road, next to the roundabout.Nebi Yunis: We had an inordinate number of papers to deliver and pick up, and spent much time doing the “office work” this entails. One is struck by the amount of trust the PAlestinians exhibit, with respect to us and among themselves. Not only were we — perfect strangers, but for our badges — entrusted with thousands of shekels, but also complete strangers are entrusted with passing documents to each other. We needed an interpreter for an Arabic speaker who could not come for his papers, and asked a passerby at random to serve as one, and the passerby ended up signing for the papers on behalf of the recipient and undertaking to deliver to him. Ezyon CP: A young Palestinian with blue ID was there, hoping to get a renewal of a permit for his green ID wife to live with him in Jerusalem.But no — she is “GSS denied”, for reasons unknown. She is presently hiding in her husband’s home!!, about to give birth any day now, and they hope she’ll be able to do it in an Israeli hospital, in spite of not being allowed to go to one. How absurd!Bethlehem CP: Hundreds of people outside, apparently for hours. Why?The computers are down. Nobody bothers to explain to them what’s going on. And nobody considers letting them pass out of Israel, back home to the PA — with or without manual checking. Let them wait. We call, and are promised that the computers will be fixed shortly, and then 8 check stands will be opened. That indeed is what happens. And it is hard to imagine how quickly hundreds of people can cross when the checking is done quickly. In the few moments we waited for this miracle, there was a scary one when the crowd suddenly surged forward, crushing each other, pressing into the shed, where a lone soldiers was desperately trying to keep them at bay. We, too, pleaded for their patience just a wee bit longer, and luckily within minutes they were allowed to pour, running, into the terminal. In the eyes of the guarding soldier we could clearly see genuine fear for our safety when the crowd seemed to start a stampede, including the accompanying howling. Happily, all ended well.