including Anata

Anata, Ar-Ram, Qalandiya Tues. 30.11.04 a.m.Observers: Hana s. Rahel A, (reporting)6:30 - 9:10 a.m.Anata. A long line of cars, but moving. Children going to school. No detainees. In the hut, a soldier by the name of S. is filling out forms for two Palestinian women with small children. They have orange IDs. The filing takes about 10 minutes with the soldier, sitting near the table and the two women in front of her. When they passed, she refused to explain the reason for the forms. A border police officer that just arrived at the checkpoint spoke with us courteously. In response to our question, he said that he had no idea about what the forms that the soldier filled out were for. 7:30 Ar- Ram. Regular checkpoint with children passing quickly. A border police soldier with two hands in her pockets glances at the IDs of those standing in the line. It's apparent that she doesn't know what she is doing there.7:45 Qalandiya. When we arrived, there was tremendous congestion in the humanitarian line; small children were pushed and checked by one soldier - harshly and thoroughly. Men were not allowed to enter the line, and they were sent back. Later, after our request (?), another person came to check and the pressure let us.At the Qalandiya checkpoint, every Palesitnian young boy knows when he becomes a man - when he is not allowed to pass in the "humanitarian lane". Especially during the winter. We asked what happens to the uncovered lane when it rains. O., commander of the checkpoint said that when it rains, they try to speed up the passage. We spoke at length with Emil, representative from the DCO. He tries to help solve problems. He told us that during the previous rains, he cancelled, the humanitarian lane (which is not covered) and everyone passed in the covered area without having to pass through the turnstiles. We asked Emil about the atmosphere at the checkpoint since the death of Arafat and he said that there is clearly an improvement. It is calmer and expectations for the future. 8:30 We returned to Ar Ram where the checkpoint was functioning as usual.