Bethlehem (300), Fri 14.9.12, Morning
Bethlehem - Checkpoint 300, 09:00-10:30
Light Palestinian traffic at the checkpoint. The team of soldiers is very quiet. A femaleofficer passes by, reprimands a soldier talking on a cellphone and not wearing a hat. “Instead of playing with the phone, tell people to come forward.” A promising change…
The police commander who creates a calm and respectful atmosphere in a place where such things are very rare is also here. It’s already clear: today people won’t be harassed.
Only one man was ordered to return home: he arrived with three small children (two boys and a girl), but the girl was already 10 years old and needed a permit…eventually they all crossed.
We left the checkpoint and at Sylvia’s request drove to Beit Jala to meet a man who’d been blacklisted so he could give us money for an attorney, sign a power of attorney and a receipt, hoping to be removed from the blacklist.