Qalandiya

The checkpoint was empty and the few people who had arrived were entering the four open (!!) sleeves when we arrived at 5:05. However, the checking was very slow in most of the sleeves, and soon long lines were forming. Moreover, we needed to wake up the soldier in the aquarium a few times (actually, we did not know if he was sleeping or not, but each time after the turnstile had opened he leaned his head on his hands on the table in front of him and therefore he did not notice that the lines at the entrances to the check posts were short or almost non-existent, so we made him raise his head and pay attention to what was happening in the sleeves.) The fifth check post opened at after 5:30, but the lines remained long – that is, they stretched out into the uncovered parking lot – until after 7:00.

The soldier from the DCO opened the humanitarian gate at 6:10 (when a group of 35 people was already waiting to pass through). He kept opening the gate each time the line at check post 5 enabled him to let people through.

A man, whose permit had been confiscated at the checking without explanation, asked for our help. Since there was nobody to talk to at the DCO at this hour, we suggested he go there at 9:00. We also gave him Sylvia's number, in case he would not succeed at the DCO. The man immediately tried to pass at check post 5 (and was sent back because of the hour). We were not sure he had understood our instructions (even though another person had helped us to translate). It might be that he was simply chocked and quite worried because of having lost his permit, which is quite understandable.

We left at 7:15 when the lines did not stretch out of the fenced off areas. We met the man again on his way out. He told us that he would wait until 9:00 to go to the DCO.