Palestinians waited for six hours at Jalama crossing close to Jenin Tuesday and claimed that one of the soldiers at the crossing cocked his gun and aimed it at them. The IDF opened investigations regarding the claims.
According to testimonies given to Ynet, the crossing was jammed from the afternoon and well into the evening hours. Arab Israelis who requested permission to visit family members in the Jenin area were among the people waiting at the crossing.
The security check progressed very slowly for unknown reasons, and dozens of people were forced to wait in a small waiting room for hours.
Due to the crowding in the room, one woman and two children fainted. The people waiting then demanded one of the soldiers to hurry up the check. At that point, they claimed the soldier cocked his weapon towards them.
Jaber Abd al-Hamid (44), a resident of a Galilee village who was among those present told Ynet, “I went with four relatives to visit family in the Jenin area who lost their son. We returned to the crossing at around 4:30 p.m. and we saw that there was a long line of people waiting. I asked why people weren’t being allowed in and I was told there was an even longer line inside.”
Al-Hamid learned from talks with others in line that many had been waiting from 2:30 p.m. “After some time we were let in through the first gate and we entered the crowded waiting room. Inside the room, which I estimate to be no bigger than 80 meters squared (262.47 feet), there were about 200 people waiting, including many women and children,” he explained.
“There was nowhere to sit and nothing to eat. The entire time, only a thin trickle of people passed through the security checks into Israel,” al-Hamid said.
“Because of the immense crowding, I saw two children and a woman faint right in front of me,” he recounts. “Because of that, people started yelling at a soldier that children were fainting and instead of responding, he cocked his gun towards them. It is a disgrace that we are treated like that.”
Following appeals to National Democratic Assembly Chairman MK Azmi Bishara, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, and IDF forces, the situation improved and the line started to move quickly.
According to Al-Hamid, there were about 50 people in the waiting room at around 10:00 p.m. “There was no reason to keep us there for so long. We are Israeli citizens who aren’t trying to cross any border and there was no reason to detain us for that long and to treat us that way.”
In response, military forces told Ynet, “In honor of Eid al-Fiter, a decision was made to allow Israeli Arab citizens to visit their families in the West Bank. In light of an assessment of the situation, the Jalama crossing will be reinforced with more soldiers and opened longer hours.”
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