Qalandiya

Back to Routine

This was our first shift after the month of Ramadan and we more or less had the feeling of a return to routine. All five checking stations were open when we arrived at 5:30 a.m.; one of the cages was blocked (apparently because the turnstile was out of order, as was the case two weeks before); and the lines extended deep into the parking lot (meaning up to the fifth row of cars-- which, by the way, were absent, as the entrance to the lot remained blocked and will likely stay that way until the conclusion of the renovations and paving of new roads). However, the soldier on duty “compensated” those waiting on the longer lines by allowing through a greater than usual number of people each time he opened the turnstiles. At 6:25 we began following two men at the end of the lines: it took them 25 minutes to pass through the turnstiles into the checking stations.

As the vehicle bringing soldiers and security guards from their base arrived late (we saw it come into the area), the officer in charge of the Humanitarian Gate did not arrive until 6:22 and immediately began checking the documents of those waiting by the gate and allowing them through. After opening the gate for the first lot of some 25 people, the officer continued to open the gate each time a number of people gathered in front of it.

At 7:00, when the cages emptied each time the turnstiles opened, we joined one of the lines and completed the security check 15 minutes later.