Qalandiya

A normal morning at Qalandiya.

We arrived at approximately 05:15.  The vehicle checkpoint isn’t crowded yet.  Even though Ramadan ended a while ago, the parking lot is still blocked this week – we don’t know why.  As a result, some people get out of vehicles on the other side of the plaza and run across, risking the traffic on the road.  Others get out of the minibuses that stop at the entrance to the blocked parking lot and interfere with traffic on the road.  Along the road cars are parked half on the sidewalk, interfering with traffic.  We drove a littler farther and parked in the pay-parking lot behind the fruit and vegetable stand.  One of the workers tries to tell us they’re increasing the price of parking because they want to pave the area.  His friend says that NIS 15 is enough, as usual.  He knows we don’t stay long.  We walked to the checkpoint, from the side.

The lines hadn’t reached the parking lot as we approached the checkpoint, but had already filled the shed and the exit area.  Three long, orderly lines of people waited.  Only three booths were open when we arrived.  A new sign hung on the humanitarian gate – in Hebrew, Arabic and English – announcing it’s open from 06:00 to 09:00; women, children and infants, the elderly, people with medical conditions and teachers and pupils are allowed through.  We know from experience it often opens after 6, and when the regular lines become shorter people are told to join them.

People are engaged in morning prayer next to the closed inspection booths and in the shed near the benches.  There are flattened cartons on one of the benches.  A person wanting to pray spreads a carton on the ground and replaces it when he’s done.  Meanwhile, the lines have extended into the empty parking lot.  At 05:25 two policewomen arrived, a sign that soon more inspection booths will open.  And, in fact, a few minutes later all five booths were open and more people were able to go through.

Slightly before 6 a couple arrived with a pair of little, cute twins.  They’re all dressed festively, apparently on their way to a celebration.  We explained that the humanitarian crossing opens at 6 or a little later.  They wait; others join them.  The security guard arrives at 6 but the DCL soldier hasn’t yet arrived.  Minutes pass, the children grow restless.  The guard, in response to our question, says the soldier’s on his way.  The gate finally opens and they go through.  The regular lines have also become shorter.

By 06:20 they’ve left the revolving gates open, and even when they closed them not many people were waiting in the cages.  We left.  Ayman, from the coffee stand, tells us at the exit that he found a job at a wedding hall in Ra’anana.  His employee will run the coffee stand.

We returned via A-Ram and Hizme this time also and entered Jerusalem through Pisgat Ze’ev.  There was a brief traffic jam but the crossing itself was smooth; traffic was sparse after the checkpoint and we reached the city center quickly.