Beit Ummar, Bethlehem, Etzion DCL, Mon 11.4.11, Morning
7:07 am, Bethlehem – Checkpoint 300: everyone told us that conditions were ‘excellent today’.
7:30 am, Husan taxi rank: No customers .
At the Efrata junction the coffee seller told us of his son’s (?) problem in getting a permit. We gave him Chaya’s phone number but asked him to have an interpreter with him.
8:00 am, Etzion DCL: it opened at 8:10 am for the 25 people waiting outside, all for magnetic cards. They started being admitted from 8.25. When we phoned one of the men later (15th in line) he said it had taken him an hour to get his card – and he seemed to feel satisfied.
There was a police officer serving at the DCL this morning.
But when we asked the officer in charge of both Etzion and Hebron DCL’s, he said that in Hebron there would be a policeman only in the afternoon, while the public is received only in the morning. This was important because we know of someone who needs to lodge an appeal (as reported last week). He tried last week but there was no policeman. The officer tried to discourage us from sending him. He said so many appeals are made without sufficient ‘reasons’ and it was a waste of the applicants’ time and money (not to speak of overburdening the police) because then the appeals would just be refused. He did not mention that this is the only route to lodge an appeal in Court. Interestingly, a bit later he phoned back to tell us to send ‘our’ applicant in the afternoon, apparently making a special appointment at 2 o’clock. Chaya contacted the man and asked him to keep in touch with her.
8:30 am, Beit Ummar: one man had been given Sylvia’s phone number by a friend but thought she would be coming in person.
As we knew there was a police officer at Etzion we could send two men there to get their police records.
One man came with a police letter stating that he is NOT banned from entry, so Chaya advised him to go to get a permit (and to guard the letter like gold!).
8:50 am, Nabi Yunis: no customers.