Qalandiya Mon. 15.11.04 a.m.Observers: Sigal H.R., aliza C. (reporting)We arrived at the intersection at 7:00 and it was practically empty. Taxis were waiting for passengers, there was a festive atmosphere, and people wearing holiday dress were going through the passageway. Taxis from the north were empty. Every so often, a cab arrived; the soldiers were bored, several of them were dozing and others were chatting among themselves. Emil, the DCO representative was there and greeted us and the commander of the checkpoint, A. asked that we not bother him. If there is a need for him and his soldiers to pursue someone in the passageway from south to north, we might be in the way. Really now! We were standing at a place where there was plenty of place for those crossing as well as for the soldiers. But we didn’t enter into any arguments and went north of the passage. The turnstile was taken away and we can only hope that it stays that way. Pedestrian traffic was very sparse. We decided to leave and to talk with the drivers at the intersection. The drivers were happy to speak with us. They spoke about the holiday, the situation after Arafat. One of the drivers said that he worked in Jerusalem two years ago and earned well, but now he scarcely earns 60 shekels a day . There are no jobs. We went to the Ar-Ram checkpoint. The wall now extends almost to the intersection. Concrete blocks lie on the side. We travelled on the dirt road. At Ar-Ram, the traffic was very light. A woman soldier did the checking and she thought that we had gotten lost. When we told her that we were from machsomwatch, we crossed with no problem.