Qalandiya

When we arrived at 05:30 the lines didn’t extend past the canopied area at the entrance to the checkpoint and it seemed inspections in the fenced corridors went more quickly than in recent weeks at this hour.  A DCO officer and soldier arrived at 06:05 and with the duty policewoman opened the humanitarian gate at 06:10; they reopened it whenever a handful of people had gathered there.  At 06:00 a member of the EAPPI joined one of the lines through the cages to switch with her partner at the exit from the checkpoint and later told us it took her 25 minutes to cross to the other side.  And yet, by 06:30 the lines were gone, the revolving gate at the left-hand cage remained open and everyone who now arrived at the checkpoint entered through it freely.

May we hope that last week’s harsh report and Chana Barag’s complaints to the appropriate authorities led to the improvements at the checkpoint we witnessed today?