Afternoon

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Place: 
Observers: 
Y.M.,D.Y.,L.K.,D.L.,N.G.
Dec-17-2003
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Morning

MachsomWatchers: Y.M., D.Y., L.K., D.L., N.G.At A-Ram: no problems.At Qalandiya from the South to the North: much traffic and many ambulances which passed with minimal delay. In both directions a small but steady flow of pedestrians.We asked ourselves why there were so few going through from Qalandiya to A-Ram but had no answer. Either people have given up trying to get past if they do not have valid passes or they find standing in line for a long period too difficult, or else it was just a quiet day. There were no great problems. Major (*rav seren*) Faris had a long conversation with us (DCO Benjamin) and told us that he had expanded the hours of operation of the checkpoint from 5 AM to 1O PM which did make things more difficult for the soldiers who also had to serve longer hours.He explained that Palestinians had told them that they had lost their jobs because of arriving late…and that once the workers went through at 5 AM, the schoolchildren and teachers could then go through at 6 AM and then later the mass of people…..thus making the waiting period shorter for the various groups and relieving the pressure on the soldiers.He also told us that now at A-Ram there were two lanes for cars, which we found to be true. Most people who had problems were allowed through. We asked him what happening to people who live in the area and want to go from A-Ram to Ramallah each day; he said that they had to obtain a pass from the DCO. He said that each day about 200 passes were issued, after the magnetic cardinfo-icon was presented and that the background check had been made to confirm that the person did not have any problems of a security or criminal nature and that the General Security Service [*Shin Bet*] had no problems with them. The soldiers who spoke with us were absolutely convinced that this is so.Sometimes it seems as if, like doctors in a hospital, they become immune to ordinary humane feelings. We asked Faris what happened in the case of a woman for example who lives in A-ram and wants to visit her mother in Ramallah…. His response: “If we allow everyone to pass freely, then why should we have a checkpoint at all” At the CP: One man arrived carrying various items of clothing in a broken-down supermarket cart (3 wheels and no handles) and was being required to use one of the ten "regulation" carts provided (for which he'd be charged a fee) and hadn't come through one of the approved lanes. Eventually he was allowed to take his goods through by hand to the A-Ram side of the checkpoint, helped by Watchers Y., D.Y., D.L. and L.