Qalandiya

We arrived at 6:15 and remained until 7:15, when the steady flow of newcomers into the checkpoint had almost completely stoped. Upon arriving we spoke with the beigale seller, whom we had not seen for quite a while and who had brought his grandson with him. He told us that he is no longer being harassed or driven away from his spot next to the checkpoint, and we saw that he had succeeded in selling all his goods that morning and went off to get more. During our shift one man, who introduced himself as a teacher in Atarot, approached just to chat and upon parting invited us to visit him in his home (without leaving any details). Another (with whom we are acquainted and who is not allowed to pass through the checkpoint before 8:00) made a marriage proposal to each of us. And other than these three social events, nothing occurred during our shift. The passage through the checkpoint took only a few minutes, during which we met a DCO soldier we knew from the old days who greeted us with a broad smile.