Afternoon

We arrived at 2 pm because it was Memorial Day. About 150 people waiting in Qalandya North. The checkpoint commander called us for a "briefing" and devided the checkpoint area into the checking area and our observation area. He declared that neither he nor his soldiers will talk to us or address our requests. When we reminded him that his own commander welcomes our presence, he answered that we can stay here, but nobody will speak with us: "And so as not to be pestered by you, we will keep the datainees in the shade"!! Most of the problems were residents of E-Ram or of other villages south of Qalandya, who were not allowed to return home. The authorities we called confirmed that those residents indeed need a permit. We, of course, knew of this unacceptable measure, but calling from time to time emphasizes the absurdity of the situation. Waiting time in the pedestrians' queue was about 15-20 minutes, and throughout our shift people came streaming in from the north. The pregnant Westbank wife of an Israeli resident from a village near Acre with their 2 small children were denied entrance. We called the Moked and the Humanitarian Hotline, and after a long wait in the burning sun the family was allowed to pass. The ID of a Westbanker, confiscated the day before, was at last returned after the intervention of the Moked.Appendix: From one of our friends we learned the exact procedures to receive a permit to pass checkpoints. This permit is valid for one month and only for passage from one Palestinian area to another. To get a permit for Jerusalem or into Israel is almost impossible. You need a letter from your working place outside your village, that testifies to your employment. You have to arrive at 6:30 in the morning at DCO Bet El, where you will probably already find 60-100 people waiting in the sun, rain or cold. You wait usually many hours, or until 16:00, when the office closes, and you are told if your application was approved or not. A permit to pass checkpoints costs 24 Shekel, and has to be renewed each month. Many Palestinians refuse, as a matter of principle, to apply for a permit which would allow them to go to work and back home - namely, to exercise their basic human right! Our friend M's multiple applications for a permit to take his sick son for medical examination into Makassed hospital, were refused.