'Atarot, Hizma, Jaba (Lil), Qalandiya, Mon 19.4.10, Afternoon

15:30:  Qalandiya:  Independence Day Eve.  Traffic is very light. There was no line at Atarot CP.  But there was a huge traffic jam at the southern entrance to Qalandiya - it took one-half an hour just to get around the square.

In the northern shed of the CP there were very few people, but the internal passageways were completely full and the lines were hardly moving.  We phoned Yahav at headquarters and he promised to help.  The lines actually did begin to move a bit faster, perhaps as a result of the phone call, but not fast enough to overcome the long lines waiting in front of the carousels.  We timed passage at not less than 30 minutes in each of the passageways, and this on a day of closure (due to Independence Day), when the number of "clients" was small.

In Passageway No. 4, a young girl stood in front of the soldiers' booth where an argument developed.  We couldn't hear her voice, but we did hear the soldier tell her "I didn't tell you to cross" and then, provocatively, "This is my country."  The girl ignored him and continued on her way to Jerusalem.

When we arrived in Qalandiya, we saw that women were using Passageway 4 (where the magnetometer makes troubles).  But later on, the soldiers in that Passageway announced that it was reserved for men only and forced all the women in line, who had already been waiting 20 minutes and longer in front of the carouse, to give up their places and go to the end of the lines in Passageways 3 and 1.

In spite of the small number of clients, the internal lines remained full all during our shift at the CP.

We left Qalandiya at 16:45.  On the way back to Jerusalem, we passed through Lil/Jabba and Hizmeh.  There were no lines to speak of.

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