Qalandiya, A-Ram
Qalandiya, A-Ram, Sunday afternoon, 22.01.06Observers: Tamar F. and Phyllis W. (reporting)A-RamWe passed through the CP at about 2:30 PM. People and vehicles were passing through at the usual rate. Three detainees were waiting as the soldiers processed their papers.QalandiyaWe reached Qalandiya at 3:00 PM. In the square south of the CP the Wall now rears up to a height of at least 8 meters – an awesome sight. People circle the wall, entering and leaving the square through the remaining openings, jumping over puddles and mud.At the southern entrance to the CP someone has written "ARBEIT MACHT FREI" across the sign that says "The Hope of Us All". None of the Palestinians passing by pays any attention.Passing through the CP we note that people are crowding in the area before the turnstiles. The turnstiles are not working. In the line of waiting vehicles one driver complains that he has been waiting for over an hour but another says that the wait has been easy compared to what he endured the day before when he waited 3.5 hours to pass through Qalandiya. A young man calls us to come quickly to see what is happening in the lines of pedestrians. Returning to the area of the turnstiles we see that the crowd has become immense with perhaps 300 men, women and children packed into that tiny area. Those waiting to pass appear to be rapidly losing their patience. We saw several young men trying to climb over the turnstiles. The DCO representatives, Anton and Danny (particularly the former) were showing signs of nervousness as they appeared to be losing control of the situation. Anton shouted commands directly at the waiting people and then returned to the control room and shouted at them again over the PA system. All of a sudden the green light over the turnstile for women and children lit up and slowly but surely the line began to move. One of the men's turnstiles also began to open more frequently and there as well the crowding was slowly alleviated. In the final tally it took another half hour for the traffic jam in the "humanitarian" line to dissipate. The men had a much harder time of it.All this time a young female soldier was sitting in the glass enclosed control room. After eating her meal in front of the crowd she decided to relax in her chair with her legs on the table. In other parts of the CP many soldiers can be seen relaxing in peculiar positions.By 16:20 jam at the carousels had been cleared. One of those waiting told us ironically: "So this is what the Jewish head came up with."Walking to the northern CP entrance we saw some of the election monitor volunteers standing by the fence. They were following what was happening to a young fellow (whose age they estimated at 15 or 16) who had been placed in a police van with his hands and feet in handcuffs. A policeman was taking evidence from some soldiers. Several reservists came over and told us that the boy had been caught with a knife in the CP and without any papers.We returned to A-Ram at 17:30. There was little traffic through the CP but 5 detainees, two women and three men, were waiting as the soldiers processed their details.