Jaba (Lil), Qalandiya

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Observers: 
Ronny Perlman, Hanna Barag; Translation: Natanya
Mar-23-2014
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Morning

05.10 The line was long but all the booths were open and the progress was satisfactory. Generally the passage took 25 minutes. Already when we arrived there was a boy in a wheel chair next to the “humanitarian” gate and he said that his father had been waiting there for a long while. A phone call from us and the problem was solved. We asked ourselves whether the policeman  wandering around and the soldier in the cage were visually handicapped.

 

The “humanitarian gate” did not open at all. It seemed at the man from the DCO had not arrived. All our efforts were in vain. “The high windows” sleep at such a time and from the answer that we received from the captain on duty we decided not to publish because of the fear of  “libel and invasion of privacy.”  The Palestinian who on our previous shift said that he was sorry that “Hitler did not finish you off” appeared again and did not spare his words as to what he thought of us and our activities. We did not argue with him.

 

The vehicle passage:  We spent much time there after the complaints that we had heard about the inspectors and the way the drivers were treated. During our shift cars were not checked. The drivers showed their IDs and the passage was swift. About a minute to a car and the queue quickly decreased. At the checkpoint of Jaba (Lil) soldiers were standing on the side of the road leading from Qalandiya to road 60 (the southern side) but they did not stop or delay cars.

 

We left at 7.30 when there was practically no queue and those who needed the “humanitarian gate” went through the regular cages.

 

Of his own initiative one of the captains came up to us  and said that the soldiers of the military police were new at Qalandiya  but “experienced” from the checkpoint at Bethlehem. “If there are problems approach us.”

 

As far as the road leading to  Qalandiya is concerned we thought that it is worthwhile to encourage the heads of the neighborhoods and the leaders of the refugee camps  to approach US AID who have been active and are active in the area.

One can take it for granted that the municipality of Jerusalem will do absolutely nothing about this.