Ar-Ram, Qalandiya 21.2.05 a.m. Observers: Sigal R, K, Aliza C (reporting)6:15 to 8:00We arrived at the intersection and unusual for this early hour, there was a long line of cars heading north. In answer to our question, no one knew what had happened but people were not allowed to cross through the closed checkpoint since 5:30. We quickly tried to find out what was happening.At the checkpoint, there were tens of people waiting: women, children, men -- all hurrying to work, medical treatment or school, but there was no passage. The soldiers were not willing to carry out the security checks unless the people moved back. But the time was passing and the situation was becoming impossible. The anger was building up, people were shouting, a little girl waiting for her mother burst out in tears, and there was the feeling that a disaster was in the making. From our conversations with many Palestinians, we heard that the checkpoint was closed until after 6:00. Soldiers were not in the area and the lanes were open so people filled the lanes until the checking point. There was a general feeling that the army wanted to punish them and there was no possibility to move back.A from the DCO said that because of cutbacks, the checkpoint opens only at 6:00. He blamed the Palestinians who moved forward and therefore, he cannot allow anyone to cross until they move 30 meters back. Even in regard to individual requests, A wa not ready to allow people in dire need to pass. He would wait for help from people who know how to do the work the way it should be done -- namely, the Border Police. The commander of the checkpoint was not ready to endanger his soldiers with inspections different from the usual ones (as we had suggested) and when he asked if we were willing to help (half jokingly) we asked to speed up the easement of the pressure and to do manual checks, but the answer was that there were not enough soldiers. A reserve soldier shot into the air to warn a woman who was trying to cross from the side. When we yelled at him and told him to stop -- that there was no justification for shooting in this tense situation, he replied that he will shoot whenever he wanted to and that we shouldn't tell him what to do. After some time, we heard additional shots from the western side of the checkpoint. Grenades were distributed to the soldiers and we feared deterioration of the situation. People at the checkpoint turned to us for help but we felt impotent. There was no one to talk to.We called T who promised to deal with the situation, to the humanitarian hotline -- they said that they knew how to deal with it, and to the the office of the commander of the branch who promised to deal with it. After our calls and appeals to A, high ranking officers arrived and opened to passageways for rapid checks. Those wishing to cross had waited about two hours until the checkpoint was open. Old people who can't stand on their feet for a long time, a person suffering from diabetes who doesn't see and was travelling to the hospital, doctors who were hurrying to Hadassah to treat sick people, teachers late for classes, school children who missed their transportation and workers who missed their rides to work and were not able to get to their jobs. Enormous anger on a day of hope.