Beit Ummar, Bethlehem, Etzion DCL, Nabi Yunis, Mon 20.4.09, Morning
07:00 AM, Bethlehem - Machsom 300: four windows are open, few people in front of each window. The foreign volunteers told us that there is a lot of pressure at the humanitarian gate, people push in that direction and through the gate, and it looks very unstable. It looks like it was bent by the pressure of the masses and is ready to fall apart. The soldier is oblivious to the situation. According to them, many persons were sent back because of a deficient biometric examination. When will they, at long last, bring in the apparatus to produce fingerprints from the DCL to the checkpoint? In order that the people don’t have to waste another workday to renew their fingerprint. According to the foreign volunteers early in the morning people passed quickly until 07:00 some 1870 persons. Now still some 300 are waiting outside.
08:15 AM, Etzion DCL: some 20 persons are waiting.
08:30 AM, Beth Ummar
09:00 AM, Nabi Yunis: during the morning there were many telephone queries to ask if there are policemen present at the Etzion DCL, Hebron or Beth-El. Often people wait hours for nothing when there is no policeman and they don’t receive any service either when there is a policeman in the DCL and he receives people. Sometimes hours pass and only after a phone call from us the pace speeds up and even then they don’t always get the information they need.