Bethlehem, Fri 4.11.11, Morning
Bethlehem - Checkpoint 300: four inspection windows are open and many people want to pass through the checkpoint. Most of them don’t have to wait in a queue and the soldiers in the positions are quiet.
Two women are not allowed to go through the checkpoint because their passes are valid from 6/11 to 9/11.
A man comes from the Jerusalem side and approaches one of the soldiers in order to get back his ID card which had been taken from him during the night..The ID is indeed returned to him. The soldier in the position calls the commander who comes out of one of the inside rooms and returns him his ID. I did’nt manage to find out what had happened during the night.
An elderly woman begs to be allowed to pass although she doesn’t have a permit. She tries her luck at each of the positions but nothing helps.
At around 10:15 am there is a power cut and the computers stop working. Long queues build-up opposite the inspection positions, but the electricity returns quickly and the people pass through without a long wait.
Apart from this, there have been no “exceptional events”, Many people passed through, and it was cold