Qalandiya, Ar-Ram, Sunday afternoon, 02/01/05 Observers: Tamar F, Noah Y and Phyllis WAr-Ram: We arrived at Ar-Ram CP at 2 PM. It was raining cats and dogs. A lot of BP soldiers were crowded into the cabin. No pedestrians, no detainees and only a short line of vehicles were waiting to pass.Qalandiya: The rain was pouring here as well. No pedestrians are waiting in line under the shed. The line of vehicles is quite short. The MP unit we've seen here before continues to be responsible for checking documentation. The unit responsible for security (regular soldiers) has been replaced by a unit of reservists. They are not very friendly toward us but are correct in their attitude towards Palestinians and appear to work efficiently (there was not much "work" yesterday in the rain). We asked Y. if the soldiers had received any instruction concerning procedures for election day. He replied that there had been no preparations to date but that he expected that they would receive instruction at the proper time (when???). We asked if he knew anything about relaxation of restrictions on movement and he replied that it all depended on the Palestinians themselves – if they cooperate there will be relaxation and if not, restrictions will increase. At any rate, this unit expects to be in Qalandiya on election day, January 9. We met a man from Shoafat under the shed who informed us of changes in regulations concerning residents of Shoafat and Beit Hanina who are not longer allowed to drive through the CP to Ramallah. A car on its way north was detained near the examination shed – the driver lacked proper documents. The driver was subject to "re-education" and the police were invited. The driver did not appear to be very upset. The police arrived and investigated the incident. In the end the driver was allowed to continue north. Ambulances were allowed to pass through the CP quickly.On our way back to Ar-Ram in the transit, I. told us that BP soldiers were inventing new ways to mistreat Palestinians. A BP jeep parked in South Qalandiya Square yesterday called to individual Palestinians over the loud-speaker system, instructing them to present their papers. The soldiers sat inside, warm and dry, while the Palestinians stood outside in the cold rain. After presenting their papers they were ordered to continue standing in the rain until completion of the examination. No exceptions were made for old men.On returning to Ar-Ram we saw long lines of vehicles in both directions. Many BP soldiers were still crowding in the cabin because of the rain. This appeared to be the reason for the long lines. Three detainees were waiting for their papers to be examined. The soldiers ordered us to move away from the CP and did not permit us to speak with the detainees.