Qalandiya
05:00 We were astonished to see only one booth open when we arrived, and a line stretching to the parking lot.
And regarding the open booth – when we walked into the checkpoint we could see two female soldiers, one who seemed to be asleep at the scanner and the second inspecting people, not very energetically.
By 05:30 the line hadn’t moved, of course – two soldiers for hundreds of people.
It’s lucky it’s still early – people aren’t yet late for work so things are relatively calm. But there’s tension; soon there will be an explosion.
05:10 We telephoned the DCL. The soldier listened and laconically said he’ll look into it. We asked why only one booth was open. No explanation.
In the interim, those on line tell us yesterday was excellent. The day before was terrible! Only two booths were open, and at one point no one was allowed to cross, with no explanation. Many waited until 09:00 and at some point returned home.
05:30 Great satisfaction – all the booths open. Hallelujah. The line immediately becomes significantly shorter, not much before the beginning of the cages. Later it flows freely.
We should note there weren’t many people at the checkpoint because it was Passover eve. The chicken processing factories aren’t working. What would have happened had they been working, or perhaps they saved on manpower because they expected fewer people?
07:00 We left.
Happy holidays.