Qalandiya - A quiet morning

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Place: 
Observers: 
Chana Stein, Ronit Dahan-Ramati (reporting)
Sep-27-2017
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Morning

05.15. Still very dark, but already there were many people on the Israeli side: two groups were at prayer, one next to the parking lot and another at the entrance to the checkpoint building; the café was full.

Once inside the shed, we found there were no queues. The entrance to the leftmost sleeveinfo-icon was sealed off with a strip – presumably the turnstile was out of order. The other turnstiles were left open most of the time. All 5 checking stations were open and there were short lines there. Once again at station no.5, only people without packages could pass.

Empty pens, the left blocked
Photo: 
Ronit Dahan-Ramati

When we arrived the kiosk was still closed, but the beigel seller and cake seller were present.  The beigel seller complained that the lights in the section where he works have been out of order for a long time. He has difficulty checking how much change to give customers. (Previously he had told us that he needed a cataract operation, but could not afford it.) The cake seller has opened a ‘branch’ inside the shed, with a young boy shouting his wares and doing brisk business.

We thought that maybe there were fewer people than usual because people from Bidu, Katan and Bet Surik could not come after the Har Adar incident, but it turned out that people did arrive from there.

When we arrived a dark-skinned man was sitting in a wheelchair deep inside the shed .Next to him were crutches and pieces of luggage. He had a blanket over his lap. One leg was amputated. We learned from him that he was from Gaza, had been hospitalized on the W. Bank and was now returning to Gaza. He said that in the hospital his money and documents had been stolen. He was waiting for the D.C.O. to open to get a permit – alone, without any help. As usual, we resorted to our indefatigable Hanna Barag for help! She, as usual, went to extraordinary lengths to do so, and a few hours later we learned that the man was on transport going to Erez checkpoint.

A film team from T.V. 2 arrived with the reporter Ohad Hemu. They filmed inside and out, and interviewed people. Hemu asked us if there were always so few people – he had never seen Qalandiya checkpoint so empty. We explained that this happened occasionally, but that usually there were long lines which sometimes even collapsed in chaos. We in turn asked if he knew of some Palestinian organization that could help the sick man, but he could not help. His report was to be presented on the evening news in Network 2.  

Soon after 6, a replacement soldier came to the aquarium. At about 6.20 there came a policewoman, guard and the D.C.O. officer.  There was no need to open the humanitarian gate. We asked the D.C.O. officer whether he could help the sick man. He did not seem over-interested, but said that the D.C.O. would open only at 8.30 and then he would enter. We asked the seller at the kiosk (which had meanwhile opened) to explain this to the man and to help him – in the hope that, without money or documents, he would nevertheless manage to get a permit and catch transport to Gaza. (As we saw above, it was later through Hanna Barag’s efforts that this could happen.)

 Later, when it was light, we went outside to see the state of the building. Part of the parking lot is excavated, as well as a neighbouring plot that had served as an improvised parking lot.

Here was parking once
Photo: 
Ronit Dahan-Ramati
On the adjacent pillar hung an advertising sign for apartments in the growing towers in Kafr Aqab
Photo: 
Ronit Dahan-Ramati

We re-entered the shed and passed through the checking stations within 15 minutes.