Qalandiya, afternoon, 22 DecemberTova Sz., Sarah A. Very few people at the machsom, as it was during our previous visit. Both the soldiers and the Palestinians tell us that people prefer, so it seems, to go through at Surda, where there is no checkpoint. The CP commander, Eyal, speaks fluent Arabic and relates politely to the population, and occasionally lets people through even without permits. On the other hand, when a young Palestinian (with a blue ID) is caught cursing one of the female soldiers (which he vehemently denies), he sits him down on a seat next to the guard station as a punishment. “I don’t try to educate him, but today a curse, tomorrow violence”, says Eyal. It is very cold, and a number of detainees wait for their documents to be returned to them. After a long time, two are allowed to pass the CP, the rest are told to return in the direction of Ramallah. At A-Ram, in spite of Fares’ pride at the two new lanes, there is a long line of cars. We come closer and see that the BPs are checking the vehicles very slowly, nothing is urgent for them. On the way to Jerusalem there are a lot of spotcheck roadblocks of the BP, checking documents of people and cars and letting them go.