Crowding
24/01/2012 ,Morning
Hannah H.
Translation: Bracha B.A. 06:00 – Reihan Checkpoint The upper parking lot is filled with cars but there are only few people. I was told that the checkpoint opened at 05:00 but that things were not running smoothly – the machine was working but the people were not. Women coming towards me in the sleeve report that the terminal is crowded and people are delayed. They demand that I "Tell them." I wish I could. At 06:15 there is a big crowd of people waiting in front of the entrance to the terminal like I have never seen before. There is a lot of noise and commotion, but no one is coming out. Soon people begin to come out, but not in an orderly manner – a group comes out and then there is a pause, then another group and a pause. 06:30 – a woman is waiting for her friends who have not come out yet. Eventually they come out. Another group has gone in but only two of them come out. At 06:40 all the women workers have usually come out by now, but today they are still coming out. The men come out at a run since they are already very late for work. At 06:45 people stop coming out again and there is a commotion inside the terminal grows louder. People who usually come out at 06:30 only got out at 07:05 today. There are still people waiting at the entrance to the terminal to go inside.
03/01/2012 ,Morning
Leila S. Hanah H. (reporting)
6:05 - Reihan checkpoint
The upper car park is stuffed with vehicles which is sign that there are still quite few people inside the terminal.
We go down the sleeve and meet women workers only. One of them tells us that most of the people are held by the X-ray machine that operates slowly.
Average time of stay inside the terminal is about 30-40 minutes.
6:15 There is noise inside the terminal after which pace of those coming out grows a bit faster.
Once again we are approached by people complaining that only one elderly person from each family can obtain an agriculture permit and non of the younger family members who can help in the routinely chores of farming except for the two months of olive picking.
6:30- Heavy traffic to both directions, occasionally it seems as if some sort of blockage is lifted inside the terminal, but according to other people there is crowding of about 40 people by the machine.
7:05 - Shaked checkpoint
Only now soldiers open the gates and with in five more minutes people begin entering the inspection cabin.
A five years old child arrive with his father from the side of the West Bank, the kid crosses over alone into the Seam Line zone, near us, on the other side of the gate, his uncle picks him up to take him to the grandmother, to babysit for him at Daher-el-Malec.
Pedestrians as well as vehicles cross over on both sides.
7:25- School children begin arriving. Two female soldiers and a soldier with a pointed rifle, inspect their school bags and let them through quickly. College students who go to Jenin are required to go through the inspection cabin.
22/12/2011 ,Afternoon
Riva Bachrach, Yehudit Levin (reporting and photographing)
Translator: Charles K.
The usual line at Azzun Atma – about 150 Palestinian laborers returning home forced to wait hours by the side of a heavily-trafficked road, with no shelter over their heads, whatever the weather.
14:00
Habla checkpoint - Vehicles and people on foot manage to go through after being inspected, just before the gate closes.
14:20 Eliyahu crossing – A Hanukkah menorah at the entrance to the checkpoint with holiday greetings from the Shomron regional council. We later see the same thing next to the Palestinian house outside the fence at Azzun Atma.
14:27 Entrance to Azzun village (Highway 55) – Four armed soldiers stand at the entrance gate.
14:45 Jit junction – We didn’t see a parked military vehicle.
At the turn to Highway 60 (toward Huwwara) – installation of nighttime lighting stretching for kilometers is nearing completion, for the settlers of Havat Gil’ad.
14:50 Huwwara checkpoint – A soldier in the guard tower next to the inspection booths. A soldier guards the hitchhiking station at the entrance to the Bracha settlement.
14:55 Awarta checkpoint – The yellow iron bar is closed as usual – no access to
Nablusfrom here.
Large military bulldozers working energetically at the northern entrance to Awarta, creating long, high
earthen berms.
Back to Highway 60 – heavy traffic between Nablusand Ramallah.
15:40 Za’tara checkpoint – Two soldiers at the inspection station. They’re not inspecting.
15:50 Ariel industrial zone –Very large hangers under construction to the north as well as to the south.
16:00 Azzun Atma checkpoint – About 150 Palestinian laborers returning home after a day of work stand in a very long line waiting to be inspected under a canopy sheltering the soldiers (most of whom today wear yarmulkes and earlocks. One speaks in English – a new immigrant).
The laborers are used to the occupation’s tricks – one day there’s no line, the next day there is.
We contact the humanitarian office so they’ll speed up the crossing – “We’re taking care of it,” they respond; “I’ll do the best I can” [Noga], but it doesn’t appear that anything will really help.
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08/12/2011 ,Morning
Estie W. Shosh D. Navah E.
Natanya translating
When there are no permanent checkpoints there are rolling checkpoints.
6.25 Azzun Atma. An innovation at the checkpoint. After months of complaints about the lack of shelter - a kind of an enormous tent covers the checking area as protection against sun and rain. But only there, over the heads of the Palestinians who are waiting in queues nothing has been built. A long line stretches out there and the drivers say that they have been waiting about an hour for their workers. There are reservists and a captain present but they do nothing to shorten the line of those waiting but adding a soldier who can register by hand. The soldiers say that it is not terrible that the workers are waiting in line because they would in any case have had to wait for their transport……
6.45 The Shomron crossing. No blue police presence at the exit from Israel. At the entrance to Israel is more careful checking than usual.
The entrance of Marda and Zeita is open.
Za’tara/Tapuach.There are no soldiers at the checkpoint post but in spite of that the drivers go slower and there seems to be an interference with the traffic.
Burin/Yitzhar checkpoints. No army activity.
7.10 Beit Furik. At the entrance to the village there is again this week a rolling checkpoint. A group of soldiers have spread out a road's spikes and the traffic stands mainly at the exit of the village. We counted 50.The soldiers tell us that this is the way it should be. We spoke to the DCO and they said that they would check if this checkpoint was necessary. About 10 minutes later when we left the village we saw that the road's spikes had been removed and the soldiers and the line of cars had disappeared.
At the “permanent” checkpoint at Beit Furikthere was no army activity
Awarta.The yellow bar still prevents the passage.
7.45 Huwwara checkpoint.No soldiers. 2 soldiers block the ascent to Bracha settlement. We did not see a soldier at the post opposite the hitching site.
Burin/Yitzhar No army vehicle.
8.10 Za’tara/Tapuach.No soldiers at the posts.
Shomron crossing. A superficial check.
05/12/2011 ,Afternoon
Shlomit S., Ora A. (reporting)
14:15 pm, Etzion DCL: when we arrived, the parking lot was already full to overflowing, which didn’t augur well. Fifteen people were waiting in the hall, and we were told that about 50 more were inside ! Those waiting complained that the soldiers inside were not working, but were chatting among themselves, speaking on their mobile phones and resting.
During the previous two weeks we witnessed a definite improvement in the functioning of the DCL, the speed at which people entered and exited was reasonable and people didn’t have to wait for many hours.
We had hoped for an additional improvement and hadn’t expected a return to the previous slow rate, which is atrocious and damaging.
14:40 pm:
A few people were taken inside but no-one came out. At 15:10 we phoned the humanitarian center, and described the situation. As usual, they were polite and ready to help.
15:15 pm:
A man who had received his magnetic card came out. According to him, he had been waiting since 08:30 AM, and the man who came out next said that he had arrived at 08:00 AM. However, a man and his wife who came out after them told us that they had arrived just a short time ago, were taken inside, waited for a short time and received their magnetic cards. We couldn’t understand why they, who had just arrived, received their cards immediately, whereas those who had been waiting since eight in the morning had to wait for long hours and only now received their cards.
An elderly woman who approached us had the answer to the cause of this strange order of priority which allows the last to arrive to come out first, and which arouses a perception of injustice and maltreatment. According to her, she arrived after 2 pm, was taken inside and there met her son who had been waiting since 09:00 AM. When she entered, her finger-prints were taken, as was done to all the applicants who entered before her. Then she saw that the soldiers placed the sheets of paper on which the finger-prints had been recorded on a pile. Because she was the last, her prints were on top of the pile. Her magnetic card arrived, the soldier took her prints from the top of the pile, and called her to come and receive her magnetic card. She understood that her son’s finger-prints, together with those of all those who had arrived at the DCL first in the morning were at the bottom of the pile and therefore they were still waiting, while the prints of the last people to arrive were at the top of the pile and they received their magnetic cards immediately and left the DCL.
The system of allocating the order of priority can easily be corrected by simply instructing the soldiers to place each new set of prints at the bottom of the pile instead of on top of it, and this will enable the magnetic cards to be distributed to the waiting people in the same order as they arrived at the DCL. It is worthwhile suggesting to the officer commanding the DCL that he should instruct his soldiers accordingly, in order to eliminate the prevailing injustice .
Eight people were taken inside at 15:35 PM. At 15:45 PM it was announced that the hall was closing, in spite of the large number of people still waiting and in spite of the fact that the official closing time is 17.00 PM. We again phoned the humanitarian center and the hall was not closed. The soldiers worked at an accelerated speed and people started to come out one after the other. It’s a pity that the soldiers hadn’t worked at this speed during the previous hours.
The last of those waiting came out at 17:05 PM.
29/11/2011 ,Morning
Rachel M., Drora P. (reporting)
"Is all that only so that you may say that there are a few Israelis who want peace?"
Bethlehem - Checkpoint 300 (Rachel Crossing), 6:45 am:
it was a very difficult morning. For a considerable time now we have been reporting on the efficient and smooth crossing, but this time the bad days were back. We arrived as usual at 6:45. Very many employers' vehicles were waiting outside for workers. Inside, 5 positions were open. The soldiers were working efficiently, but because people arrive in waves, they were idle between each surge. Although many had yet to cross, the number of checking positions was reduced from five to three.
According to reports, people had to wait more than two hours before exiting. At the main entrance, they go through in groups, one group after another. It was the same on Sunday.
One of the persons crossing was furious, and reprimanded us: Why do you stand here? Is it only to say there are a few Israelis who want peace? We made ourselves scarce.
8:20 Here and there employers entered the building. One of them raised his voice to the soldier in attendance and threatened to get in touch with the Ministry of Labour which charges him a high sum for his workers, and here he is daily losing their working hours.
The number of people waiting to leave for work is still high.
According to reports, people had to wait more than two hours before exiting. At the main entrance, they go through in groups, one group after another. It was the same on Sunday.
One of the persons crossing was furious, and reprimanded us: Why do you stand here? Is it only to say there are a few Israelis who want peace? We made ourselves scarce.
8:20 Here and there employers entered the building. One of them raised his voice to the soldier in attendance and threatened to get in touch with the Ministry of Labour which charges him a high sum for his workers, and here he is daily losing their working hours.
The number of people waiting to leave for work is still high.
24/11/2011 ,Morning
Rachel M., Michaela R. (reporting)
6:15 Olive Terminal
All three corridors are operating, and the long line stretches as far as the beginning of the metal track.
Checking is reasonably fast, and quiet is maintained. Around 7:20 pupils start arriving and heading for the third corridor.
When our turn came the turnstile locked after staying open for a split second. A technical failure or a malicious intention? It took us 35 minutes to cross.
7:00 Az-za'ayyem
Vehicles arrivng from the village are directed into the checkpoint, and this saves merging into the heavy traffic from Route 1. Vehicles are checked efficiently, and it's evident that the person checking is familiar with some of the drivers.
At this hour minibuses arrive frequently. Each minibus enters the checkpoint area, the passengers disembark, and a soldier and security guard check the vehicles. When this is over, the passengers waiting outside show their documents, then return to the minibus. Aside from one document which aroused suspicion, and whose owner was sent for a further check, all the rest proceded in an orderly fashion.
One security guard inquired whether Machsomwatch might be looking for an Arabic-speaking investigator...
7:30 Anata
Nobody knows when the new checkpoint will open, neither the neighbourhood representative nor the soldier we asked at the checkpoint. Rumour speaks of early December, but no certainty. It looks as though the main building of the new checkpoint is ready, but much work on the surroundings still awaits.
Despite the relatively late hour, the parking area for buses is crowded with children who continued to arrive from the direction of the checkpoint.
At the checkpoint, vehicles are checked on several tracks, and there were no delays. In the pedestrian track there were no lines, the little ones crossed without checks, the older ones got a quick check.
24/11/2011 ,Afternoon
Shoshi A., Yehudit Levin (reporting and photographing)
Translator: Charles k.
Following up on the recent reports:
- Palestinian laborers (still) wait on long lines at Azzun Atma
- Armed soldiers present in the villageof Huwwara.
13:45 Habla checkpoint – Palestinians in cars and on foot wait on both sides of the checkpoint to be inspected inside the rooms.
Next to the entry gate (on the Israeli side), one of whose doors is missing, two Israeli contractors in civilian clothes, armed with revolvers, “explain” to us that the Palestinians broke the gate (?!); they’re repairing it. Then they rudely chase us away.
At the same time, reservists stood on the other side (next to the gate through which Palestinians exit to Israel).
When we asked Palestinians about the broken gate, they said it had never happened.
14:10 Eliyahu crossing – Two settlers armed with submachine guns wander around the checkpoint.
14:15 A military truck with a sign “Abirei HaDarom” drives toward us after we passed Nabi Elias.
14:20 An armored police vehicle drives toward us beyond Al Funduq.
14:25 A military command car coming from the Mitzpeh Yishai settlement turns onto Highway 55 (not far from the Qedumim settlement).
14:27 Something new near the settlement of Havvat Gil’ad: Two kilometers of high electric light poles, for nighttime illumination (on Highway 60).
14:40 A military jeep comes toward us near the village of Madme(Highway 60).
14:45 Highway 60 – Burin/Yitzhar junction –A military jeep drives toward the villageof Huwwara. We see another military jeep lying in wait at the entrance to Huwwara.
15:00 Huwwara checkpoint – We saw no soldiers at the checkpoint. Settlers’ posters hang as usual on the checkpoint fences, including an invitation to an event connected to a new neighborhood in a settlement. A military jeep, soldiers standing alongside, parked at the plaza at the hitchhiking station at the entrance to the Bracha settlement.
15:02 A group of soldiers at the northern entrance to the villageof Huwwara, weapons at the ready, walks toward the village. The jeep we mentioned (at 14:45) is still parked there.
15:10 A military command car speeds along the main street of the village.
15:35 On the way to Za’tara – a military jeep drives toward us.
15:40 Za’tara checkpoint - Heavy traffic, particularly coming from Nablusto Ramallah, but no inspection at the checkpoint. Groups of soldiers undergoing orientation in the parking area. Two armed settlers near them.
15:50 A command car exits from the direction of Hars.
16:05 Azzun Atma checkpoint – Long lines at the checkpoint. About 150 laborers returning home after a day of work in the settlements (in their midst, large metal poles for a shade netting or canopy being erected there). A Palestinian who’s had enough complains, “A donkey gets better treatment than people here” (in fact, a Palestinian with a donkey cart comes later and go through before him…). He says yesterday he arrived at the checkpoint at 4 PM, and didn’t get home until 7:30 PM. “No father coming home from work tells his children to make peace,” he says. He can’t understand why they register him twice a day.
We contact N., in the humanitarian office. She says she’ll look into it.
16:35 We contact the humanitarian office again. N. says they’re trying to speed up the crossing.
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17/11/2011 ,Morning
Nora R., Chana P. (reporter)
Watchers: Nora R., Chana P. (reporter)
Translation: Suzanne O.
Azzun Atma
There was uproar at the roadblock yesterday so we decided to go there.
6:30 a.m.
There is an extremely long queue which is joined by other people all the time. At both inspection windows where ID numbers are listed there is also a military policeman who checks everyone with a magnometer, the pace is slow.
Reserve soldiers are positioned at the roadblock. We talked to the roadblock commander and protested at the slow pace. Because of us, or maybe not, a military policewoman was posted to list ID numbers and the pace accelerated. When we passed by a second time, after 7 a.m., there was no queue.
Haris
8:30 a.m.
We talked to two building labourers who waved at us. The house by the building site was in ruins and when we asked the reason for the destruction they said, Jews.
Deir Istiya
9:00 a.m.
We stopped by a group of men sitting together at the entrance to one of the houses. They all said that for a long time they have been refused entrance to Israel by the Shabak, are unemployed and have been unable to get work permits for Israel. We suggested that they contact Sylvia. One of them had a touching story: his mother was injured in a traffic accident and cared for in a hospital in Israel. For the last three months before she died he was unable to visit her. In addition the compensation due to her from the insurance company Sahar was stopped but they have not received the money.
From there we drove home via Al Funduq.
07/11/2011 ,Afternoon
Natanya G. and Phyllis W. (reporting)
15:30: The northern shed was full of people celebrating the holiday. About 50 men, women and children stood in each of the three lines leading to the turnstiles. Inside the CP we could see that all 5 passageways were active (including the DCO lane), with a considerable number of people waiting in line in each of them. The lines in the northern shed were not moving, just growing longer and longer. We phoned the Humanitarian Hotline to ask if they could speed things up but their answer was that the soldiers on duty were doing the best they could. We suggested that they open the Humanitarian Passageway for all the women and children and were told that they would check and see what could be done. Actually, nothing at all was done, the Humanitarian Passageway remained closed, but somehow it seemed that the lines began to move a little bit faster
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We walked over to see what was happening at the passageway for bus passengers at the western end of the CP. The passageway looked deserted – no people waiting in line and no buses waiting to pick up passengers. On the other hand, there were several buses waiting in the old parking lot at the eastern exit from the CP. It appeared as though the bus passageway was shut for the holiday, but there was no one to ask.
The holiday crowding continued all afternoon with only slight fluctuations in the number of people waiting in the northern shed. We spoke with a young man wearing a white coat and timed his passage (it was easy to track his progress from a distance): just to enter the CP from the line in the northern shed took him 35 minutes.
We met and spoke with several groups of tourists who were also waiting in the lines to return to Jerusalem from a visit to Ramallah. They found the crowded and filthy conditions at Qalandiya very impressive (and not in a positive sense, of course).
