Qalandiya, Wed 30.5.12, Afternoon

Translator:  Charles K.

An early, short shift because of prior commitments.

A new monument decorates the traffic circle at the turn from Highway 443 toward Qalandiya-Atarot.

15:45  The southern plaza is, as usual, congested and jammed.

The pedestrian crossing is almost completely deserted.  The peddlers offer a range of merchandise – cherries from the Golan, figs from Ramallah, grapes, plums…

They compete for each customer, as do the taxi drivers who keep moving around to attract passengers.

We learned that for NIS 10 you can go through Hizma, instead of paying NIS 6.60 for a minibus to Jerusalem, and avoid the pleasure of going through the checkpoint…

Talking to the taxi drivers about their struggle to make a living, we hear about a resident of Kafr Akab with a blue (Israeli) ID card.

There’s an ongoing policy to limit the number of taxis and make it hard for the drivers to earn a living.  Here’s how the occupation’s bureaucracy works:

Vehicles from the Ministry of Transport (not the police) wait on Highway 1, stop taxis and try to determine whether they’ve charged for the ride.  The frightened passenger usually incriminates the driver, who doesn’t have a permit to charge people.  If the passenger denies he’s paid, they threaten the other passengers.  The driver receives a ticket from the police, is reported to the income tax authorities and to the Ministry of Transport – so the driver must try to obtain a permit from the License Bureau in the Clal building, which is almost impossible.

12 of the 20 drivers remain.

But, of course, there’s a cheaper and more convenient arrangement, for settlers only!

Egged charges NIS 3.30 from the Adam settlement to Jerusalem – cheaper than a bus ride in Jerusalem!!!

(I know this myself – I’ve confirmed it.)

We crossed back at 16:45.  A short line of people waiting, two fenced corridors open.