Qalandiya - Meeting old friends
06.00 a.m. Nowadays we come to Qalandiya less regularly and also later than before the improved conditions at the checkpoint, as the Palestinians themselves come later, too. In the area approaching the checkpoint on the Israel side, work continues on building sidewalks and roundabouts. Also, there seem to be works in progress to improve the roads on the way to the checkpoint. Maybe soon there will be a decent road, at last, with lighting and 4 lanes.
On the Palestinian side we were happy to meet our friend Abu Ramzi, the beigel seller at his usual in front of the shed and next to him a small kiosk. It appears that the kiosks are now a “chain”. In addition to the big kiosk next to the parking lot, there is also a smaller one at the entrance to the whole checkpoint area coming from Qalandiya, where there is also a covered stall where they sell fruit later in the day.
The toilets –men’s and women’s – were open and lit. the front sections were relatively clean, but inside they were filthy.
We stayed about 45 minutes. Thought there were occasional problems with the lights above the entrances, people entered quickly all the time except for one short delay at one entrance. Because passage is now so quick we normally don’t now meet our ‘regulars’ at the humanitarian gate. But today we did meet the teacher who always likes to practice his German with Chana (her Yiddish, really). He was on his way to supervise pupils doing their Jordanian matriculation exams (Tawjjiyah). We met also S., who told us that at night she often hears explosions when the army enters nearby neighbourhoods.
After we passed without delay, we met also the D.C.O. officer whom we hadn’t seen for a long time. We thought he had left the army by now. Meanwhile he has grown a beard, like all the young folk.