Anata, Ar-Ram, Qalandiya, Friday, 13.1.2006 AMWatchers: Leah L., Clair A. (reporting)Anata08:30Little movement. A taxi crosses by the side road and not through the checking area. A woman soldier runs after it and orders the driver to stop, takes his blue ID and returns it within 7 minutes. An absurd picture of a checkpoint which people bypass all the time and everyone knows it but they all play the game.Ar-Ram09:00 When we arrive we see a man and three women, all elderly, who have been detained. Their IDs have been taken and they are not allowed to pass. The man says he is from Hebron and has one sister in Ramallah and two in Jerusalem. He cannot get a permit because his son was once arrested and therefore he has no hope of getting a permit and of seeing them. He had hoped that on Friday, the last day of the holiday, he would be allowed to pass. We try to speak to the officer there but to no avail. Indeed, he said, that sometimes there is more leniency but does not accept that ‘Id Il Adcha’ is as important a holiday as ‘Id el Fitr’ and sticks to the rules. It is a complete closure and only those with special permits can pass. Their age does not make any difference to him. They receive their IDs but are sent back.Qalandiya09:30Tons of mud and the sign with its hopeful messages, which has been photographed so often, seem even more surreal. None of things the large flower promises can be seen here. On the other side of the monster we see the car lane and another new sign. This time with a clear view and a wide and well cared for road with more nice but deceitful messages. The army is going wild trying to prove to the Palestinians that everything is for their own good. Maybe it is an attempt to link it with the notices about the Palestinian elections.There are at least 20 cars which take about half an hour of slow checking. The people wait submissively, patiently; some open their windows and speak to us. One man, from Nablus, is married to a Jerusalemite and lives in Jerusalem. His wife is having labour pains and has to get to the hospital. They had tried to cross by the pedestrian crossing but could not because he is from Nablus (He shows us a document which states that he is from Nablus but has moved to Jerusalem as a result of his marriage). Now they try their luck at the car roadblock. We wait to see that they pass and they do so but have to make a big detour.The queues lengthen. There are at least 9 soldiers and police at the checkpoint but only one lane for checking. We speak to the spokeswomen and she says she will check and get back to us. The checking goes slightly more quickly but still with only one lane. The spokeswoman returns to us and says that there are security reasons why only one lane can be opened and of course she cannot tell us why and that the captain on the spot will see what can be done.At the pedestrian crossing are many people especially women and children and families with parcels. At the electronic signpost there is a new sign: ”Happy holiday!”An elderly woman with a large parcel on her head manages to go through the turnstile with her head erect. She fills the entire space but pushes and gets through. The Palestinians create new skills to get through the barriers that we make for them.We leave and obey the rules that instruct the women to go through the third gate where a soldier checks our IDs and calls a girl soldier to check our bags and says to us scornfully: “Yalla!”Ar-ramWe and 10 cars pass within 15 minutes.Natanya translating.