Ar-Ram, Qalandiya 2/6/2004 Watchers: Daniella Y., Ruti B., Tami B., Aya K (reporting), guests: Vivi (a peace activist from England), Samuel (a French journalist), Yoram S. (making a film about the checkpoint) Ar-Ram, 4:15. Laborers from Qalandiya who work in Jerusalem were waiting an hour and twenty minutes for their IDs. They were caught by a jeep when they tried to circumvent the checkpoint. One said, “They can catch me ten times. I still have to make a living.” We asked the soldiers about the IDs and they said that they were not there and they had no idea were they were. We asked them to check about them, and perhaps they did check. Meanwhile, a jeep came with the IDs and they started to fill out the forms. Tami convinced them to give us a copy so that we could see them. The forms have two parts. On the top part, the details of the individual are written down, including whether he tried to run away when he was arrested, and other details. Everything is in Hebrew. The bottom part is also in Arabic and English and reads something like: You affirm that no possessions were stolen from you; you were not beaten during the course of the interrogation. According to the soldier, the person can sign or not. If the person is not suspected of any other offence, a complaint is registered saying that he tried to cross illegally and that if he is caught again, he will be brought before a judge. From our experience, that means detention of several months. There were few people in the line and it appeared that everyone passed. The line of vehicles was long and slow. Qalandiya North, 5:00. The line was short and moved quickly. People of all ages who live in the greater Ramallah area are allowed to pass, as are women. Men not from the area and who are between 16 and 35 cannot pass without a permit. (It should be noted that Qalandiya is the natural passing point for people from many other areas, including Bethlehem, Ezariya, Abu-Dis etc.) The alternative that the soldiers always suggest, Surda, takes much more time and much more money. To go by way of Surda, they must go to the other side of the checkpoint. We always ask, why should they have to go in such a round about manner when you yourselves acknowledge that they will end up in the same place. Why can’t they just cross and be allowed to go there. If this was truly a security manner, then why is the Surda route allowed. There is not even a checkpoint there and they won’t even be inspected. But the law is the law! They’ve got to be taught a lesson. As was written in Tzili’s report, most people cannot even get a permit.I mention this because this checkpoint appears to be an easy one because there are relatively few detainees, and those were released; they did not have to wait long and there was no firing of weapons. The commander of the checkpoint, Adiel, was relatively pleasant and listened to us, spoke and listened politely and was not mean. However, just as there is no “enlightened occupation” and no “enlightened soldiers”, this cannot be called an easy checkpoint. A checkpoint is forbidden — racist, evil, and in and of itself, degrading. Every checkpoint is bad because it is a checkpoint.Three detainees told us that they were already waiting three hours. Adiel said that he told them to go by way of Surda, and after 5 minutes, he released them. We were told that on Tuesday, on the southern side of the checkpoint which was full of border police, a person from the municipality came and confiscated the wares of a peddler who was selling toys. When the man wanted a form indicating that his goods were taken from him (so that he would be able to get them back), he was hit by a soldier with the back of his rifle while the municipal inspector approvingly looked on. The full story, by Amira Hass, appears in today’s Haaretz, page 8A.Everyone is waiting, in fearful anticipation, for the construction of the wall.