Abu Dis, Container (Wadi Nar), Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal), יום ה' 18.12.08, בוקר

5:40  Zeitim Crossing

A flow of transits arriving, workers descending; crossing is swift, no lines at the outside carousel.

6:15  Wadi Nar

Very busy traffic.

When we arrived there was a short line from the direction of Sawachra, but a big traffic jam on the road beyond the booth, due to the fact that only one lane is open for both directions.  Most of the recently paved lanes are closed.

The yellow metal bar blocked the road going north.  Most of the cars therefore head in the direction of Sawachra, for the longer and more complicated route.  Until a truck driver takes the initiative and moves the bar.  No reaction from the security forces.

Once in a while a vehicle is delayed, not for long, mostly less than 10 minutes.

Inefficiency in the mangement of the checkpoint is evident: when a vehicle is checked the entire line has to wait, even though there is plenty of room and manpower to allow the flow of traffic to overtake.  When a truck from Sawachra arrives, two border policemen stare at it and continue chatting to each other while the driver waits.
 

One of the policemen "creates order" among the delayed vehicles by occasionally requesting them to move away.

Towards 7:00 traffic decreases and there is no longer a line.

One of the delayed drivers tells us that in the evening hours delays can last for two hours.