Bethlehem and Surroundings AM 11.4.06Observers: Hannah, B. Tamar, A. (reporting) Visitor: Joan from England 06:15- 09:30 Closure. At the place where the road from Nueman reaches Um Tuba, and where we usually see laborers waiting for rides from the contractors, there is no-one today. This is not a good omen. On the way, we meet tens of people – mostly from Nueman. Y. is on his way home. He has a permit to work in Har- Homa, but he doesn’t have work to do there, since the other workers aren’t able to arrive because of the closure. He tells us that the water pipe that was broken because of the building on the checkpoint, was fixed, but they connected a narrow pipe to a larger one, and with the slightest touch it will disengage again. We promise to tell the building officer about it. Further down, at the entrance to El Has, there is a Border Patrol jeep. It seems he plans to stay here. From El Has an elderly man and two elderly women with their sheep, continue as if the jeep is not there, in the direction of Nueman. But those in the jeep don’t like the fact that they ignore them. The jeep is switched on suddenly and with unnecessary noise, they drive in the direction of the herd. The driver, a man with ugly manners, speaks with them out of the window. They are not allowed to pass. The women stand near the window and try to argue. This doesn’t help them. The two women, with their herd sit down in the fields of El Has, near the road. A tractor driver who worked in his fields during the night, wants to return to his home in Nueman. In his ID card, it is written where he lives. The Border Police officer doesn’t let him pass, and also he detains another resident of Nueman. “They are lying”, he says, “Nueman is all this area here,” and he points in the direction of Has – “a thousand people”. When we try to convince him that Nueman is only the small village above, his friend says “don’t tell us how to do our job.” We begin telephoning, and as we speak, an Officer with a higher rank arrives, looks at the ID cards, and decides that two of the residents can return home. Also the two women with their herd are allowed to return. The man stays until they return. Another three people wish to go on the road to Nueman. The police officer, with the ugly manner, doesn’t even bother to speak with them – he only makes a sign that they should get out of his sight. Finally, he has no choice, he has to look at the documents and let them pass. He doesn’t look at them. Meanwhile, on the road which is to become the Liberman Road, four jeeps arrive – as if the security forces have decided that this is the road that needs securing in the south of Jerusalem. Finally only one jeep remains, and it seems he will be here for a long time. For today, it seems that the last checkpoint between Bethlehem and Jerusalem is blocked. The Border Guard police have total control of the entrance to El Has (B Area) – a jeep enters the village, and a police officer enters the field on foot. Above the construction site, a civilian security guard stands, with his gun at the ready. When we return to Nueman, the man with the tractor – the one who supposedly doesn’t live in Nueman – is standing with his wife, at the entrance to his home. Everyday he has problems to return to his house, he says.