Qalandiya, Mon 27.2.12, Afternoon

We reached Qalandiya at 4:30 PM.  There were no people in the northern shed.  Two internal passageways were operating with very short lines in each one.  There was no one waiting in Passageway 5 for the DCO offices, nor was anyone waiting in the DCO shed.

We saw two young men with a large valise entering the examination area in Passageway 4.  After the valise passed through the x-ray machine, the two men were told to unpack it and show its contents to the soldiers sitting in the aquarium.  After a few unsuccessful attempts, a female soldier entered the area and stood near the two, looking through the things strewn about on the dirty floor.  The soldiers were looking for something made of iron that they had identified in the x-ray, but couldn't find it in the contents.  However the two men, who wanted to return to Gaza after a hospital stay in Ramallah, were not allowed to continue on their way but were told to return the next morning to receive a proper passage permit.  When they exited the passageway, we tried to help them contact the DCO offices but the DCO was closed already and there was nothing we could do.

At 5 PM one of the two active passageways closed down leaving only one passageway operating.  However, in view of the small number of people who come to Qalandiya in the afternoon nowadays, even one passageway (working properly) looked likely to be enough.

We left Qalandiya at 5:15 and returned to Jerusalem via Lil/Jabba and Hizmeh CPs.  Traffic was flowing smoothly all the way.