Qalandya – 15.3.06 – Wednesday afternoon Daniela Y, Ruthy B, Ronni H, Ivonne M (reporting). Distinguished guests: Mark and AaronOne day after IDF stormed the jail in Jericho and Palestinians all over tell us of their feelings of humiliation after seeing on Al-Jazeera TV, Palestinian soldiers and prisoners exposed in their underwear. They believe humiliation was the purpose.Qalandya15:15The construction of the last segments of the Wall that will separate East A-Ram from West A-Ram are going full speed. The checkpoint for cars and cargo is also almost finished. We walk around a bit and a guard approaches us and says it is forbidden to walk around because this is a construction site and it is dangerous, and points out where we should walk. We protest that the trucks are actually driving carelessly on the road that he says is for the people but this discrepancy doesn’t move him. We ask him where the sign is that says it is dangerous to walk here and he says he is a “talking sign”.15:35An ambulance from the Medical Relief Committee goes through from Ramallah to Bidu to pick up a patient. The driver and paramedic are from Beit Lakya and they want us to hear of the great problems they have there. They tell us they heard that a woman from Hizme gave birth at the checkpoint the day before, on Tuesday, and they say another ambulance picked her up and brought her to Ramallah hospital. The peddlers talk about this too, although their worries today are more focused on what will be the source of their livelihood in a few days time when the wall is finished and they are evicted from the checkpoint area.A young Palestinian approaches us and asks:Why are you here?Are you Jew?Are you not afraid of Palestinian people?You are peace?After hearing that we are “Peace” he gives us a reassuring:”Welcome”.This happens again when another Palestinian who is concerned whether we are afraid or not approaches us. It is possible this concern is motivated by the fact that just a few moments ago 3 foreigners who were earlier kidnapped were released in Ramallah, or maybe by the humiliation suffered yesterday in Jericho: it seems to us these people are testing our perception of them, how dangerous they seem to be in foreign eyes.The taxi drivers with the white vans waiting at the northern part of the checkpoint to take passengers to Ramallah have been given notice that they will have to abandon that area. They tell us they intend to resist this eviction by all means. The inventiveness of people looking for a livelihood has no limits: a man has built a very mobile oven and is preparing pita bread on the spot for the passers by. It looks delicious, although a little bit dusty.We check the toilets again. They are intact (we were told by the checkpoint commander they had been stolen) but there is no running water. 16:20Inside the checkpoint.Only entrance number 2 is open and sometimes they let people go through one by one and sometimes 3 at a time. The soldier checking the IDs and permits is in a ‘good mood’ and is having a good time so after asking each man to press the ID against the window he orders him out with “Sababa” or “Al Hakeifak”. Some Palestinians waiting in the line make a sound which could be interpreted as a laugh but most are not amused. One man decides to protest against this behavior of the soldier and when his turn comes he angrily tells the soldier that he should not make fun at their expense. The rest of the Palestinians waiting in the line try to stop him from protesting, they are afraid the soldier will become angry and make them wait endlessly. Even this feeble protest by one Palestinian, who wants to save his dignity, is not supported by the rest who are afraid it will be detrimental and they will be punished collectively.