Shuafat A-Ram Qalandiya

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Brenda H,Mor B
May-1-2007
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Afternoon

Shuafat A-Ram Qalandiya Tuesday, 1/05/2007 pmBrenda H, Mor B (reporting)16:30 A-RamAlmost no pedestrians or cars. One of the Border Policemen said that there had been a 1st May demonstration in the morning, but it had not been near the checkpoint. From midday onwards he said there had been hardly any traffic and it was very boring.A police van arrived and a man without the correct papers was taken out of it. Apparently, he'd been caught in the area of Israel. It turned out that he is from Hisme and the officer released him quickly explaining to him that he had to travel through the Qalandiya checkpoint to get to Hisme. After a few minutes another man without adequate documentation arrived and asked to cross. He was not allowed to do so.16:50 Qalandiya The checkpoint for pedestrians was almost empty. Some people were coming from the Civil Administrationinfo-icon (Matak) and complaining that they were not receiving permits. One was a teacher who lives alongside the settlement of Givon (the new Givon). He told us about the impossible conditions that he and ten other families endure every single day. There are about ten families and it is not possible to describe them as a village because there are no amenities such as school, work, shops or a clinic. For all their everyday needs they have to travel to nearby villages, Bidu, Jib or to Ramallah. Only the children who learn at the school at Iksa have regular transport to and from the school. Once the separation fence is completed, these people will no longer be able to get easily to these nearby villages which are about ten minutes walk from where they live. In order to get to other villages or to Ramallah,they will have to walk 2 km to get to the location where it is permitted for Palestinian taxis to travel. In the area that they live, they are unable to travel. Since the area is defined as Israel, they cannot drive a vehicle with Palestinian license plates, and they are forbidden to drive Israeli vehicles (because according to their ID s they are residents of the territories.Today, the teacher went to the Matak to request permission for one person from the ten or so families to be a designated driver, so that he will be able to transport people in an Israeli car (in spite of his Palestinian ID. For example, he would be able to drive sick people to the clinic or hospital, people who are going shopping the distance of 2 kms. Another man, also from Ramallah, also came from the Matak. He told us that he needs permission to get to his niece's wedding in Gaza. The wedding is in two days time (Thursday). He has not seen his brother (the bride's father) for ten years. He said that he had waited for three hours at the Civil Administration at Beit El, only to be told by the soldiers, when he finally got to be inspected that because his ID states that he lives in Hisme, he would have to get his permission from the Matak at Qalandiya. According to him, he waited another two hours at Qalandiya and then the soldiers told him to come back the next day. Mor phoned K, the officer at Matak to ask why the matter had been delayed until the next day, but he said that he knew nothing about the matter.Since we were unable to confirm either story, Mor suggested that the man should return the next day and clarify with K which documents he is supposed to have with him.