Qalandiya

Ar-Ram, 16:25. Several detainees are
held in a narrow niche near the soldiers' booth, standing one
behind the other, backs towards the street. The MP soldier
arrogantly asks for our MachsomWatch badges. He "doesn't know
who we are". A transit driver from East Jerusalem is detained
outside the booth, his papers being checked, because, he says, one
of his passengers opened the car door. 2 detainees still in the
niche. A soldier says they've been there half an hour. Finally,
after about 20 minutes the soldier allows us to go over to the
commander, who is very polite, and goes over with us to prove that
the IDs are actively being checked. Once we approach, the transit
driver is given back his papers and allowed to pass. An Italian
student, S., from Beir Zeit, came to meet us to see what
MachsomWatch does. She calls to say that her passport was taken
because while she had sat there waiting for us, she sketched the
area.

17:05, Qalandya south. A long queue of traffic, not
moving.

Qalandya north. About 70 people crowded, waiting in the sun to
pass, very slow progress. A reporter of Al Jezeera, says his papers
were taken 2 hours ago. When he approached the soldier (as he does
every day) the soldier asked: "Are you Hamas?" And he
responded humorously: "Yes, and Jihad", so they took away
his papers. We intervened and at 17:25 his papers were returned and
he was let through. The soldier in charge generally tried to
cooperate with us. A 19 years old man whose papers had been taken
in the morning asked for our help. At first the commander said he
couldn't find them,that they may already be at the DCO, but when
given the ID number again, found it and returned it to him. 2 young
men from Hizme village, who had been allowed through before with a
note from DCO Ramallah stating they had filed a request for a
permit, are denied passage. But at 18:00 they were let through. A
30 year old person from a village near Nablus who lives in Ramallah
wants to go to his village without a permit. His aunt in Jordan had
died, and there was to be a ceremony. Before we can help, he had
thanked us and given up waiting. 19:22 A policeman arrives, asks
S., the Italian student, some questions and takes her to Neve
Yaacov police station. We escort her. By 22:30 they let her go, and
apologize.