morning
Anata, A-Ram, Qalandiya, Jaba, 11 January, 2004. Morning Observers: Dalia R., Noa S. and Ilana D. Shuafat/Anata 6:30 AM - Steady flow of cars, no detainees. A man told us of a truck driver whose vehicle together with a transit both transporting illegals had been grounded for thirty days at the entrance to the camp. He was given a card of the Moked.A-Ram An impatient inhabitant of Givon hooted to bypass the queue on the left and was immediately let through. Most pedestrians were allowed to pass including an elderly lady with no papers whatsoever. The documents of a man who claimed to be in a hurry were given to the blue policeman for a faster check. A young woman with a baby
was returned – she didn’t even argue. The soldiers didn’t know who we were and were given the ‘Letter to the Soldier’.Qalandiya The number of cars on the airstrip seemed to have increased. Traffic passed reasonably fast in both directions. The cab drivers told us that Surda is open and Jaba too, but that there was a nasty CP at Hizme. We promised to investigate later. The puddle (lake) on the northern side seemed to have dried up. A man on his way to Jordan (with an undated exit permit) was not let though and told to travel around via Surda. The elderly volunteer started shouting at us when we returned in the queue that Israelis are not allowed into Ramalla and suggested we find other charities to do closer to home. He was calmed down by one of the soldiers who speaks very good Arabic and was extremely polite to us and the Palestinians. Jaba Three layers of coiled barbed wire and deep mud apparently sufficed to block off the passage through the quarry. An impromptu CP was set up on the eastern side of the intersection. A bus on its way to Ramalla had been held up and the documents of all its passengers were being investigated The driver was very angry. All settlers passed freely to the left of a long line of Palestinian vehicles. Koby, the commander of the CP, told us to move 50 meters away so as not to bother him. He was not prepared to talk to us. Within fifteen minutes the bus had been sent on its way and the queue had been eliminated. There was no ‘flying’ CP near Hizme, only the regular one at the entrance to Pisgat Zeev. Back to our first stop:Shuafat - refugee camp/Anata There were about ten detainees who claimed to have been held up for four hours (a slight exaggeration - it was about two hours since we had left). Three armed civilians of the Security Service (Shabak) didn’t want to talk to us. We were told by the BP-men that they were there to guard their position every morning from 8:00 to 10:00 AM. A jeep arrived to take one Palestinian for investigation. We were not allowed to hand him a card of the Moked. The papers of the others were returned and they were sent home. The BP-men were nervous and rather aggressive towards us, the atmosphere was much more tense than when we had been there early in the morning