Qalandiya, Tue 22.11.11, Morning

The lines leading to the three turnstiles were not particularly long when we arrived at the checkpoint at 06:05 but the shouts and whistling indicated that those standing in line were upset. We soon discovered that the soldier responsible for opening the three turnstiles was opening only two of them, and that the men in line to the third one (on the right, furthest away from the soldier in the glassed-in booth) were stuck in the narrow, cage-like passageway. This situation continued for about 25 minutes before we managed to get the attention of the Civil Administration duty officer on site and make him aware of the problem. It’s rather infuriating that, other than we two, no one bothered to look into why there were shouts of protest, of all things, when the turnstiles were opened! After talking with us, the officer promptly entered the glass booth and dealt with the problem, but the morning’s angry mood had already been established.
 
In addition, from our arrival at 06:05 until about 07:00, the soldier in charge of opening the turnstiles let only 8-10 people through each time, and there were long waits between each opening. The result was lines extending to the back of the covered waiting area, with the men waiting in line shouting and whistling to signal the soldier that his system (if one can call it that) left much to be desired. A number of times the soldier used the loud-speaker system to offer “advice” to the crowd, along the lines of “Just wait, wait” (in Hebrew, as if the men in line were doing something other than waiting, seemingly forever), and “Take it easy” (in Arabic). We failed to agree between us whether his intent was to “communicate” with the irritated Palestinians or to taunt them. After 07:00 the soldier allowed a larger number of people to pass through the turnstiles each time he opened them.
 
The Humanitarian Gate opened at 06:05 and every 15 minutes or so thereafter, when anywhere from 100 to 150 people had gathered in front of it. No one was waiting by it at 07:30 when we left the checkpoint, and the lines leading to the three turnstiles were shorter.  A man who stood at the end of one of those lines at 06:50 later told us by phone that he exited the checkpoint at 07:50.