'Anata-Shuafat, Qalandiya, Mon 16.1.12, Afternoon

It was a cold and clear afternoon in Jerusalem.  Very few people were at the CPs.  We reached Anata CP at 3:45 PM.  Once again we saw a stream of people returning home, beyond the Wall, but almost no one emerging in the opposite direction to enter Jerusalem.  The examinations in the vehicle CP did not take very long and traffic appeared to be moving.

We continued to Qalandiya CP.  Very few people were there as well.  Only one passageway was operating when we arrived, but another was opened shortly thereafter.  A young mother with three small children was standing in Passageway 4.  She entered the examination area with them when her turn arrived, but she was not allowed through.  When she came back, she told us that the children were not recorded in her Palestinian I.D. card, only in the Israeli card of her husband, only he could bring the children into Jerusalem where they all live.  The woman herself holds a personal permit that doesn't include the children.  "It's the will of Allah" she told us with a despairing shrug of her shoulders.Then she phoned her husband, who must have been waiting for them nearby, because he came quickly and shepherded his whole family through the CP.