Bethlehem Cp 300, Ezyon CP,Al Khadr,Biet Ummar, Idna

From Bethlehem to Idhna, Tuesday, 28.12.04, AMObservers: Tamar Lazar, Ilit Rosenblum, Yehudit Elkana (Reporting)6:30Bethlehem checkpoint 300: Very few cars and pedestrians. The detainees' shack was empty, and the sign "Evacuation of Casualties" was still on it. 6 men were standing opposite the checkpoint, 3 were detainees and 3, people who work in the olive grove south of Tantur and who don't need a permit.6:45Al Khadr: A police jeep which left a few minutes after our arrival. The road is full of mud and heaps of asphalt which the taxi drivers bought in order to cover it.We were welcomed warmly at the school by the principal and the guard who tell us that the soldiers watch over the school from the stadium.6:50Ezyon checkpoint: Taxis are stopped and people checked.Al 'Arrub: A jeep at the entrance to the camp. 8:00Beit Ummar: Soldiers at the entrance but passage is free.Halhul - Hebron bridge open. The road up to it from Route 35 is blocked.8:45At the entrance to Idna, Border Policemen check IDs. 3 men are standing and waiting. One of them, from Beit Awwa, was wounded a few months ago during the demonstrations against the fence and was on his way to Wolfson Hospital. The second was from Beer Sheva area and was supposed to drive him to hospital. The third was a local man who drove the wounded from the village to the main road. He was detained because a Palestinian is not allowed to drive a car with an Israeli licence plate and was waiting for the police. We left because we felt that our presence there was not helpful. Coming back after a few minutes, the jeep had just left and the 3 men were not to be seen. They phoned a while later and told us that they were on their way to the hospital and the detainee had been released. While we were there a taxi with pictures of Mustafa Barghouti arrived. In one of them he is shown surrounded be soldiers, one of whom points his rifle at him. The Border Policeman had nothing against Barghouti's photos, but the one with the soldiers he called "racist".10:45Ezyon checkpoint still manned. Taxis are stopped and checked.