Qalandiya

Arriving at 5.15, today we did not see the usual groups of men praying.  Inside the queues were relatively short and all 5 checking stations were open. For some unknown reason the soldier managing the carousels opened only one, that one closest to the aquarium. The men in the other two lanes started shouting but he either did not hear or preferred to ignore them.  They therefore left their lanes and began to push their way into the first one, which almost led to fistfights. Later they simply all stood in one line, which of course quickly stretched right out of the shed, although there was really no need for this, and it would not have happened had the soldier opened all three carousels.  As to be expected, at the entrance to the lane near the aquarium the line collapsed and there was confusion. When a guard arrived we asked him to tell the soldier to open all the carousels. As soon as she did so, order was restored, because in general there was not particularly large pressure today.
06.10. The D.C.O. officer arrived with a ‘student’ soldier. After them came another guard and a policewoman. The officer explained to the soldier the procedure at the humanitarian gate, and at 6.15 the gate at last was opened. We went outside for tea and noticed smoke rising from the direction of A-Ram. Muhammad of the kiosk said that during the night there was trouble in A-Ram and that people were burning tyres there in protest.
We returned inside and spoke to two young men of “Blue-white Human Rights,” the right-wing organization. We had not seen them for a long time and they said that, indeed, they mostly go to checkpoint 300 (Bethlehem).  When they arrived they went to check the state of the toilets, and told us they were going to complain about this. They handed out leaflets to people, written in Arabic and inviting them to approach them for help.  They told us that they mostly help people needing permits for getting medical treatment. They cited a case where they enabled a man who wanted to get to treatment in alternative medicine, to get a permit. They were surprised to hear that we help people write appeals against refusal of permits for security reasons, and that we succeed in this.  They thought that once Security decided someone was a security risk there was nothing to be done.
At 6.35 we joined a very short line and passed through within 10 minutes.  Next to the parking lot (on the Israeli side where we park), is a simple café. On our way to the checkpoint early in the morning, this place is humming with workers waiting for their transport. But on our way back it is empty, and the owner is busy cleaning  up the cigarette butts.  When he sees us he invites us in for coffee.  He tells us that his name is Avraham and that his father worked many years in Sha’are Tsedek [hospital].