Ar-ram, Qalandiya, Sunday aftenroon, 17.7.2006Observers: Tamar P. Rachel. Hanah. Yael . Phyllis I.Natanya translating.On the way to Jerualem Musa phoned and asked us to go to the District Commissioner’s Office to find out what was happening with his request for a permit to bring the coffin of Muhammed, the 8 year old boy who died in Italy lat week while waiting for a liver transplant.15.00 Checkpoint Ar-Ram. On the way as we passed the checkpoint we saw little traffic or pedestrians. A little bit further on we saw that the cement blocks had been removed at the entrance of the circle Dachia El Barid and we came up against them a little further on. The way therefore was much ssimpler.15.15 Qalandiya checkpoint. A crane puts cement blocks on the northern entranceto the checkpoint and in this way narrows the passage to about 50 cm. Pedestrians found it hard to pass. What does a person in a wheelchair do? What do parents with prams do?When we entered the checkpoint one group immediately went towards the DCO where matters were being handled well and there were no problems.At the checkpoint itself there were no lines in the northern area of the hall and about 50 men, women and children waited at the only turnstile which was working, some of whom had been there for half an hour. A man and woman soldier could be heard giving orders in Arabic to people in the checking area. Because Of the bad quality of the loudspeaker their instructions were no clear and they lost patience and shouted at the people irritably and impatiently and this caused arguments. After a few minutes we phoned Ophir and within a few minutes another turnstile was opened and the line began to advance quickly. I went through the turnstile and forgot my phone on the x-ray machine. A man who came out told me that the phone had been given to the soldiers and I therefore went north to pass through again. The soldier who was activating the gates at the northern area was engrossed in reading and did not pay attention to what was happening, that is to let people through and also not to those who had not been allowed to pass and who were trying to return in the direction of Ramallah through the locked turnstiles. The intercom was not working and it was very hard to catch her attention. At the checking area one turnstile only was working and a Palestinian was in the checking area. He did not have the necessary permits and was arguing with the soldier because he had a summons to the court and refused to leave. It seems that the present system is not equipped to deal with such problematic situations. In the end when many people were waiting angrily on the other side of the turnstiles a border policeman came to deal with the situation and heard the hopeless shouts of the man and said to him “What the soldier says is sacred to me.” He drove him away and then the waiting people began to move through slowly.The post office was closed and this is the second week.We left Qalandiya at 17.30 and we left for Ar-Ram through Hizma and Pisgat Zeev. There was no pressure of people there or at Shuafat.