Qalandiya

Smooth flow of traffic

It is not clear whether five or four of the checking stations are open when we arrive at 5:30 a.m. The status of number 5 is unclear, as people enter and then leave the waiting area before it, and one cannot know ahead of time whether the station is open or not as the screens above the waiting area, which are designed to impart this information, are turned off.  On the other hand, the turnstiles at the end of the three cages are open to all, and remain so until 6:20. Thereafter, the soldier in charge of opening the turnstiles  empties the cages each time he opens them.

Two soldiers and a security guard arrive at 6:23 to operate the Humanitarian Gate but they send the women who approach it to join the lines going through the cages. Then, at 6:30, they decide to open the gate when a number of people gather before it and continue to do so until just before 7:00, when they leave.

At 6:50 we join one of the lines through the cages and exit the checking station 15 minutes later.