Qalandiya

5:00am: At the vehicle barrier the lines were building up – only a single lane was operating. At the pedestrian passage there were no lines at all and three booths were functioning. We noticed last week's policeman watching us from the "aquarium". At 5:10 he announced that two more booths (nos. 4 and 5) would be opened. The operation of the turnstile enabled the passage of all the people who were on line. People who got off the bus ran directly to the enclosures and passed through the open turnstile. Passage depended of course on the turnstile, when open - all passed through.

We went to watch the sunrise and take a cup of tea from the kiosk at the entrance. People seemed pleased that there were no lines. The loudspeaker directed those approaching to the less-crowded booths. Out of habit, those getting off the buses ran to the CP, and were pleased to see that there was no need to run. They expressed their satisfaction with smiles and gestures. One person told us that on the previous day the lines had reached the parking area.

Shortly after 6:00 the DCL officer arrived but he had nothing to do. There was no one seeking to use the Humanitarian line - all had passed easily through the regular line. We left  at 6:10 and slowly proceeded to the vehicle-line. Three lanes were now functioning (in addition to the bus-lane) and there was the usual commotion at the circle.