Bethlehem, DCO Ezyon, 5.9.2005, PMWatchers: Shlomiet S., Yael S. (reporting)We went straight to the DCO where there were over 200 people waiting for permits and magnetic cards. Outside the DCO we were informed that the closure had been lifted. When we spoke to the spokesman of the civil administration we were told that this was only partial. Seven traders, some with valid permits and others not, were refused and sent to the Palestinian DCO by whom they said that they had been sent to the Ezyon DCO and so we met people who had gone from one to the other fruitlessly. One woman asked for a permit to go to the funeral of her aunt in Jerusalem. She was refused because the body had not yet arrived from Jordan and it was not certain that a permit would be received to bring the body into Israel. I do not know what happened afterwards. The frustration is enormous and people asked what a partial closure is. I tried to explain to the Palestinian traders that the Palestinian DCO had received 300 permits and for those who had permits there was no closure and the opposite. The good thing was that I received news that the blind women of 70 †who had lived all her life in Jerusalem, and whom we met two weeks ago and who had sent me by fax a letter asking for a permit, had been given one for three months. A permit was also granted to her helper Zamira. This thanks to the pressure of the media and an urgent request to the civil administration. She will receive it tomorrow. Each time there is a complete closure we have this horrible situation of people over 70 whose lives are totally in Jerusalem even though they live in Bethlehem. At Beit Umar the children have returned to school and the fruit has ripened and the price of tomatoes is reasonable . The family is waiting for their relations to arrive from Russia to celebrate the marriage of their son. Bethlehm 17.00 – No lines and under the tree 3-4 people are sitting and this time we do not enquire why.