Qalandiya

Standard Qalandia

Four of the five checking stations were open when we arrived at 5:30 and the lines were longer than usual, while the progress forward was slow at this hour in the morning. The fifth checking station opened at 6:00.. At that time we went to the end of the lines to follow one of the people and see how long it took his to reach a checking station. It took him 40 minutes to do so.  As time passed, however, the progress forward grew faster and the lines grew shorter, reaching only a bit outside the entrance to the shack at 7:00.

A Civil Administration officer and security guard opened the Humanitarian Gate at 6:20 and operated it smoothly through the end of our shift.

Due to an early morning work commitment, we exited through the Humanitarian Gate at 7:00 and completed the security check 10 minutes later.