Qalandiya, Tue 3.4.12, Morning
05:00, a little chilly, people are smiling
As if someone had read our complaints regarding last Tuesday, when nothing worked properly, this morning we arrived at the checkpoint at exactly the same hour and saw a demonstration of how the checkpoint can be operated very efficiently and with a minimum of discomfort for people going through.
People arrived at the checkpoint at the usual rate, a normal, ordinary Tuesday, like last Tuesday. The most obvious difference between last week’s terrible congestion and this morning’s uninterrupted flow was the attention paid to controlling movement of people through the checkpoint.
To demonstrate, I prepared two tables comparing the situation at the checkpoint on the most and the least congested day.
The tables refer to the period between 05:00 – 07:00 because last week, at 07:05, the mass of laborers who’d filled the plaza, pressing up against the fence, burst through a side gate. More than a hundred people flowed in, flooded the inspection stations and disrupted everything until 09:00. That’s why no comparison is possible with what occurred after 07:00.
The number of people waiting on the outer line in the entry plaza
(including the humanitarian entrance)
During the half-hour beginning at: |
Congested day 27.3.12 |
Uncongested day 3.4.12 |
05:00 |
200 |
150 |
05:30 |
350 |
200 |
06:00 |
500 |
250 |
06:30 |
450 |
220 |
07:00 |
500 |
100 |
The number of people from the entry plaza joining the inner line for inspection
Between the hours of: |
Congested day 27.3.12 |
Uncongested day 3.4.12 |
05:00-05:30 |
129 |
228 |
05:30-06:00 |
141 |
309 |
06:00-06:30 |
139 |
338 |
06:30-07:00 |
120 |
438 |
Similarities between last Tuesday and this Tuesday:
At 05:00, the five computer inspection stations were open.
Ten people waited at each inspection station
Last week there were about 200 people on line at 05:00
This week there were about 150 people on line at 05:00
At 06:00, an additional inspection lane opened.
We counted the number of people on line in the plaza for inspection at each revolving gate.
We estimated the number of people on line at the humanitarian gate because it was more difficult to count them.
We determined the number of people going through the revolving gates by counting the number of people entering through the first gate each time it opened and multiplying that number by the number of gates that were operating.
We counted the exact number of people going through the humanitarian gate when they entered the corridor leading to the inspection booth.