Bethlehem and the surroundings, Nuaman, Tuesday morning, 21.3.2006. Observers; Yehudiet A. tamar A. (reporting)Natanya translating. 6.15 – 8.00It seems that the amount of workers from the West Bank through Nuaman to Jerusalem ( especially to Har Homa) is growing. The way there has become easier. Most of the checkpoints on the road between Um Tuba and Nuaman have been taken down except for one at the beginning next to the rubbish heap and one at the entrance to the village. There is a very definite path on which cars also seem to be able to travel which turns after the rubbish heap to the right and goes on to Har Homa.A car-owner from Nuaman with Israeli number plates goes to his work with handicapped people from Beit jala and takes us to the passage to Um Has. We ask how long this takes and he says it depends. The road itself takes 20 minutes but he never knows for how long the jeep will detain him. Two days ago he was detained for half an hour. Firstly because the soldiers claimed that there was a closure and he was forbidden to enter the area of the West Bank and then that something was wrong with his id and in the end he was allowed through. He says that besides the jeep which come to the passage between Nuaman and El Has there is sometimes another jeep on the road to Beit Sahur next to the bridge. When we arrive at the passage there is no jeeps and pupils are passing. They show us a point above the hill on the right hand side of the road leaving Nuaman and the security road. There stands another jeep keeping watch. While we were there the jeep did not move and not notice was taking of two Palestinians passing slowly by.The work and the uprooting of the trees is going along full stream. On the descent from Nuaman to the wadi between the village and El Has more trees are being uprooted and being transported to the groves of El Has.There are holds in the ground and broken branches lying around. A new passage has been made going from the bottom to the top and it seems that another gigantic road is in process of being built like the road which now exits Nuaman. The ground has already been made into a kind of a platform ….the basis for a new checkpoint.