Qalandiya

The tough atmosphere at Qalandya was
apparent immediately. The queues were long but moved quickly mainly
because the instructions were very clear and strict - people
without permits were sent back to Ramallah
categorically.

Teachers: Teachers want to get to their schools to prepare for the
school year beginning Sept. 1. Last year teachers were allowed
entry with only their Palestinian teacher’s card (because of a
Supreme Court ruling). This week however, no teacher was allowed
entry with only the teacher’s card - now they also need permits. We
were told by one of the teachers that they had been instructed by
the Palestinian Ministry of Education not to apply for permits
since some teacher may not be entitled to receive one. It seems the
aims was to put pressure on Israeli authorities to issue a group
permit for all the teachers. Fares (from DCO Bet El) said that they
are waiting for a new order (probably from the Supreme Court) about
the teacher issue. He assumes that eventually it will be the same
as last year. In the areas near the checkpoint there were a large
number of cars and transits - which we were told by soldiers had
been stolen. Ali - the taxi driver - told us that there was a 60
shekel fine for each day the vehicle was kept there.