Bethlehem. Tuesday PM, 24-1-06 Observers: Yael I., Ruth O. and Ilana D. (reporting) guest Ofra A. from the North From 2:00 till 6:30 PM We had wanted to inspect the terminal of CP 300, but after a conversation with Tamar A. decided that since we are not allowed inside, there is no point. We wondered whether the commander could not be convinced to let us go through like in Qalandiya. We remarked what looked like a number of detainees at the Tunnel CP and entered only to realize that every Palestinian bus has to unload all its passengers for inspection of documents befoe being allowed to continue. The (infantry) soldiers seemed polite and had no idea who we were. We delivered Haya’s paid fines at Abu Nassim’s store. There was army presence in Beit Ummar, but the road was open. Near the pillbox at Al Aroub a hummer was stationed. There are even more election posters hung on the netting along Road 60. There was no queue at the Ezyon CP. At the Ezyon DCO we again noticed that all applicants were Christian. Gone are the days when people try to apply for work- or merchandise permits. One of the men explained that no one bothers to apply for permission to visit family members in another West Bank city. It is just too much of a hassle to obtain the necessary documents and if in addition a trip to Ramalla takes almost a day, why bother? An engineer who has to perform major renovatiosn at the Armenian Church in Jerusalem finally had received his magnetic card through the interference of a MW member, but now was waiting for a permit to enter Jerusalem. A young mother with a three months’ old baby told us that last time when her daughter was only three weeks old, she had been made to wait for two hours. A man who receives his permit from the Israeli Ministry of Labor told us that his lapsed permit could not be renewed due to the closure, but that the Ministry was trying on his behalf to have it renewed. Eyal was called and he promised to send an officer down to sign the waiting permits. After a few minutes all the waiting Palestinians were called to the windows and received their documents. It was annoying to realize that without our interference they might have had to wait much longer. The engineer was told to apply to the Palestinian DCO, but was not sure he would get his papers there. A note on the window stated that Maher would be absent, but then we saw him and he even dealt with one of the cases. In Al Khadr we saw many more workers than we had seen the last few months. There too the election posters were prominent, including a woman, Mary Rock of the Communist Party (Popular Front). As we were about to leave we saw a beautiful car with yellow number plates and curtains on its windows and were told: This is the police and they come all the time.” It parked on the other side of Road 60. We approached and found out that it belongs to the ‘hidden’ police, which operate only in the West Bank. The car has no external signs whatsoever, but the driver and his colleague wear ordinary blue police uniforms. They were issuing a ticket to a cabdriver who had made an illegal turn. We had not been to Wallaje for some time and visited Atta who had just returned from Beit Sakhur where he will be monitor of the elections to-morrow. As usual his wife Fatima welcomed us in beautiful English and told us how she had lectured to the Swedish mission which had visited her house. They are expecting another such group on Friday. Two weeks ago a house near him was demolished. The army had come and within half an hour the job had been completed. Since Atta had been in the vicinity a soldier had taken his Id. and promptly lost it, but then fortunately found it with another soldier. The court case has been postponed for the time being, since the lawyer had not yet sat with the representative of the Attorney General. The work is situation is very bad, but Atta has a job at the Monastery in Ein Karem and is in possession of a work permit. He once passed through the official terminal, but it is too time-consuming and he prefers to take the risk and walk through the fields to get to work. Atta told us that his Palestinians health insurance only covers hospitalization, but no doctors’ visits, tests and medication.