Checkpoint monitoring

As part of our on-the-job training, my fellow EA Jenny (from England) and I rose at 3:30 a.m. today for our first experience of checkpoint monitoring. There were were no cars on the streets, and we saw more cats than pedestrians. A 15-minute cab ride with our two trainers (EAs from the outgoing group) brought us to Qalandiya checkpoint, a huge facility between Jerusalem and Ramallah operated by Israeli Defense Forces to keep terrorists out of Jerusalem.

It's easy for everybody to exit Jerusalem. There are just three turnstiles, no checks. Getting in is the hassle. First I went out to watch people waiting to enter. When we got there at 4:45 they were going through smoothly. Then the crowds began. Mostly construction workers. Sometimes there were more than 200 in three long lines that funneled into three 2-ft. wide cages about 15 feet long that ended in a turnstile. They were orderly lines, and gave preference to women with head scarves and men who had stopped to pray. Many were smoking. A large steel-roof structure protected them from the elements while they waited. No toilets; they had been destroyed by vandals. There is a special humanitarian gate that we were told would open at 6, and it did to let a wheelchair through.  Our job on that side was to call the civil authority in charge if the lines became too long, and try to find out why any were denied entry. Few were, because most had learned not to bother coming without the required permit. We also gave a few people at the end of the line time cards to turn in to us on the other side so we could tell how long it took them.

After a while we switched sides. Jenny came out and I joined the line to go in. I guessed the right lane and moved in faster than the other two. After getting through the first turnstile, I had to choose one of five lanes with a second turnstile. Then I passed through a metal detector and pressed my open passport to a window for inspection by soldiers. A couple more turnstiles and I was through. It took me 22 minutes. Then I used three counters to track the number of men, women, and children who exited in 30-minute periods.

George counting persons at the Jerusalem side of Qalandiya checkpoint

In the nearly three hours the accompaniers were there we counted 1,598 men, 88 women, and 101 children (mostly students with backpacks heading for school. Our spot checks showed the quickest transit time was 13 minutes, the longest 28 minutes.  The data is sent weekly to the Jerusalem EAPPI office which forwards it to international organizations.

Surveys show the Palestinians are reassured by our presence, and I feel we help them with opportune calls to the authorities. I feel sorry for the inconvenience experienced by people at the checkpoint, but I did not witness any harassment, humiliation, or harsh treatment. I dream of the day when Israel does not feel it needs this security and the wall and checkpoints can come down. Some have already been dismantled or are inactive.