Bethlehem (300)

8:50 to 10:40

Waiting and waiting

Throughout the whole shift only two windows were open. Despite the fact that many were waiting in a line that was progressing very slowly. The two women-soldiers insisted on a thorough inspection. No commander came out to the checkpoint area to pass elderly/women with no queue at the “Humanitarian” Gate.

I appealed to the Humanitarian Center and asked them to open an additional window to no avail.

At one point it seemed as if they’d open a third window, because a woman-soldier came out and I hoped she intends to reinforce the windows. But she sat down next to the security guard and they started up a lively conversation peppered with loud laughter.

An officer arrived and ordered the soldier to go into one of the windows... Once again, the hope for the opening of a third window was premature: it turned out that she only replaced the soldier at the window!

An elderly man arrived and approached with great excitement the officer, explaining to her that he forgot his ID at home. She asked for his ID number to check at the terminal. In his excitement he gave the wrong number. With the help of apparently his wife (on the phone) he got the right number and the officer checked and allowed him to pass.

Suddenly a security guard jumped and called a boy who was passing at the window asking to see the kushan and demanding to know where is the original. The boy did not understand what the big deal is. Family members tried to help. Then the security guard saw that the kushan was Jordanian and demanded a passport with a visa. The boy looked helpless and the family members were unable to help - the security guard sent him back.

When I asked him, "since when does a security guard have the authority to decide who passes and who does not? Why not call the commander and let him decide?" The guard replied: "Since when are you interfering with my work?" and added they initially let the boy pass because they did not notice that it’s a Jordanian document. He emphasized that he knows the family and that “they are from a foreign country: neither Israel nor Palestine.”