Al Nashshash, Bethlehem, Etzion DCL, Nabi Yunis, Wed 10.12.08, Morning
It was a holyday and only few people headed to Israel.
Bethlehem, Rachel passage: few people were passing. The posts were manned and the soldiers were calm. The security men were polite and took an interest in their work.
El Nashshash: there were almost no vehicles passing.
Etzion DCL: at this stop there were many people. They were making the most of the holiday for all sorts of arrangements. The soldiers arrived. They let people enter according to criterions. And when it was time for those who didn't have a priority to enter, everything became a mess. The soldier used a list that one of the Palestinians had drawn up. The others were angry but the soldiers weren't authoritative enough and people started running towards the cement bricks. The soldiers were annoyed and stopped handing out numbers, they waited for things to calm down. There are huge difference between the forces at different checkpoints.
Nabi Yunis: No one came to see us.
In contrast to the other times we were there, this time we saw military vehicles parking along the way.