Qalandiya

Watchers: Y. I. and R.P.

It was a very difficult shift to be in and to write
about.

I went in about 2 hours after I read Gidon Levi's article on Liran
Ron Fuhrer's book and read some of Liran's experiences described of
life at the CP.

It was ver busy at A Ram,a new shift of Border Police came in and
we felt that our presence was not welcome and felt that the one
family with blue IDs and just one young woman with a green one has
more chance of being allowed through than with us negotiating
this.

We felt it was a question of prestige for the mefaked and the samal
who was talking to the family not to allow us to
"win".

We arrived at Kalandia at a very busy time because everyone wanted
to get through in time for the break of the fast. The line was
moving very swiftly and we were impressed by how approachable and
reasonable the soldiers were in conversation with us. We noticed
that they established a third line for sick people and special
cases. They assured us that this is what they have in mind- to let
people through before the end of the fast. We noticed that there
were no meukavim and some who were miraculously disappeared towards
exit and others managed to get approval even if the first soldier
said no because it would be a family with a husband with a blue ID
and a wife with a green one and no permits,of course. We even
discussed the Yediot and Levi articles with the
soldiers.

Until...

Until one of the "nice" soldiers stopped a young guy and
suspected him that he is carrying a fake ID. He even asked me to
show him mine to compare but I have the wrong one. When the guy was
sent to stand on the side and wait for them to do their checking

the young guy became angry,wild and violently tried to break away.
It took 5 soldiers to hold him because they were trying to make him
stop and hold him. In that absurd situation of a very violent
spectacle of a guy hitting ,pulling,soldiers trying to make him
stop and Yael walking behind him and trying to give him his leather
jacket and noone even telling her to move away the situation was
becoming more and more explosive because the soldiers didn't allow
people who claimed they knew him to talk to him and suddenly there
was an enormous angry crowd shouting. Then one of the soldiers
standing right next to me fired a shot in the air and people calmed
down and mainly moved away.The soldiers carried the guy to the
"budke" and called the police. The man was kept inside
for a while and sat on a chair outside talking to the soldiers.We
all felt

that he went bezerk-for the Why there were different
interpretations.

I called Shadi who was very matter-of-fact and complained about the
shooting and keeping the man locked in the little budke.Was he
taken outside soon afterwards because of that I don't know. The
scene was surreal- the Palestinian sitting on a chair and the
soldiers wandering in semidarkness looking for his lost
pelefon.

I also called the Moked and gave his name - M. A.from Hizme and
asked them to try to find out what happened to him and that we are
willing to be witness.

The man from the moked called back to say he also heard from
bypassers and took my phone number.The problem,unfortunately is
that if the ID was fake,M. A. will be in trouble.

Another surreal incident happened with a group of beautifully
dressed scouts in white and red with trays of dates for the people
on line at the checkpoint.They really entered the line of the
waiting people and the soldiers wanted them to stand at the side.
Of the group of 4 or 5 it was the smallest boy of 10? who refused
to move and went wild screaming,hitting. The soldiers made a
"deal"- the boy stayed and the rest went to the beginning
of the line.

When all calmed down the soldier who shot the shot came to tell me
that he was depply affected by the 2 articles- in Yediot and
Ha'aretz and that his army service is almost over and he can't wait
and that he shot the shot to put a stop to the upheaval. I actually
called Shadi to complain just about that although we had to admit
that after he fired the shot it became calmer there.

The mefaked ,3 stripes on his shoulder-seren?- didn't want to give
me his name and said that we all know him anyway was OK and we felt
he is "doing his best"

It was very painful to observe in practice what I read about in
Gidon Levi's article.Even the nicest group of soldiers become
brutal and intransigent and tough and impolite when performing the
job of allowing and not allowing people to go home or to visit
relatives or to see doctors or whatever..