Afternoon

Bethlehem checkpoint and the DCO office in Etzion.br>MachsomWatchers: Y.S., Sh. S., and Tali S. 14:00, Bethlehem checkpoint: There are no special problems at the entrance to Bethlehem except for a truck with a driver who has an Israeli ID who is refused passage. (Apparently the fax that was supposed to arrive in regard to his business, did not). Usually passage to Bethlehem is refused to holders of blue Israeli IDs, although they are sometimes allowed to enter Jerusalem from Bethlehem. Sometimes they are sent back, to return the way they came. 14:30, El Khader:There was no sign of the IDF. A number of people approached us requesting help for humanitarian (medical) problems. We called the Physicians for Human Rights in Tel Aviv and hope they will be able to help.We were asked about permits into Jerusalem for Christmas prayers and the spokesperson at the DCO told us that yesterday orders were given at all the DCO offices to provide such permits during the Christian holidays, with a few restrictions that she did not explain. 16:00 Etzion DCO [civil administration office]: It was the end of the day and there were about 30 people there. We had an opportunity to listen to people who told us about their life under occupation. One man told us that he has not worked for three years, he does not have a permit for passage into Israel, and hopes to get one so that he may provide for his family. Another lives in Beit Jalla but has a house in Jericho, and has tried 9( NINE) times to get a permit to travel into the Occupied Territories., A third brought all the documents required, as listed on the DCO bulletin board, but was told when he finally got to the windows that he needs another document from the Palestinian Merchants Bureau in order to get his permit. We tried to find out if indeed this is the last and only document that he needs to get, but there was nobody to talk to. Perhaps tomorrow we can solve this riddle. A fourth moved from Nablus to Bethlehem a year ago and lives with permits for three years, but now he has a problem--he is refused a renewal of his permit at Bethlehem DCO because he belongs to Nablus. In Nablus he is refused service because he has previously been granted permits in Bethlehem. Dr. Sharif, the deputy mayor of the city of El Fajar, confirmed that the Palestinian Authority needs the approval of the Civil Administration in Beit El in order to change the address on the identity card of a Palestinian – but they tend not to give approval to moves from Nablus to Bethlehem. Daily life under the occupation.