Hizma, Jaba (Lil), Qalandiya, יום ב' 9.11.09, אחה"צ
15:00: At Atarot CP the line of vehicles was short.
15:10 to 15:30 - Qalandiya: Two passageways were active. The soldiers in the examination area allowed 4 people at a time through the turnstiles. No one was waiting in the DCO shed.
15:40: We went through the CP and came out on the Jerusalem side just as a Palestinian ambulance arrived from Ramallah, pulling into the bus parking lot accompanied by Ivan the policeman (who did not have a name tag identifying him, but willingly supplied the information). We spoke to the ambulance driver while he waited for the Jerusalem ambulance to come from Mukassed Hospital and he told us that his passenger was a 9 month old baby
with a heart defect who was headed for an operation (with only a 40% chance of success), accompanied by his Mom and a doctor. The Jerusalem ambulance was taking a while to arrive because the traffic jam in the southern square had backed up down the road to Beit Hanina. When it arrived and the child was transferred, we could see that he was sleeping, probably sedated for the journey. At 15:50 the transfer was completed and the ambulance set out for the hospital.
On our way back through the CP to the Palestinian side we noted once again that the biometric machines were out of order. We also noted the strong stench of urine in the northern shed where the toilet facilities have been closed for more than a year and apparently no one washes down the area.
16:00: Arriving back at the CP entrance, we saw that only one passageway was operating. However there were not many people in line, so we made no complaints.
16:08: There were now about 60 people waiting in the one active passageway and another 40 in line in the northern shed. We phoned the Operations Room and they immediately opened a new passageway.
16:30: Both active passageways were full of people and another 20 were waiting in the "cage" in the northern shed. Natanya called the Moked.
16:40: Another lull in the number of people arriving.
17:00: Only one passageway is operating and the lines are growing longer. Soon people leaving work will begin to come through on their way home. We called the Operations Room again. Avital answered and promised to try and help. In no time a new passageway was opened and the lines began to move, but we timed the wait at about 25 minutes.
17:10: We left Qalandiya to return to Jerusalem. There were 17 cars in line at Lil CP. At the Adam intersection, an armed policeman was directing traffic. The line of cars coming from Jerusalem was very long. At Hizmeh CP traffic was flowing