Jaba (Lil), Qalandiya, Sun 28.11.10, Afternoon
Qalandiya:
The traffic on both directions at Qalandiya checkpoint had been stopped during the change of shifts at the front post. The checkpoint became a sterile zone for a while and the lines grew so long and wide that the vehicles stood cramped together.
The cab drivers at Qalandiya checkpoint told us that the new wing, which is identical to the west wing of the checkpoint, will have been inaugurated by "the Christians' holiday".
We saw at Qalandiya checkpoint, sketches and blue prints to expand the way leading from the entrance to Ar-Ram to Jaba checkpoint. The constructions are funded and sponsored by US-AID.
Jaba checkpoint: 
The checkpoint had changed:
With American financial support a new lane on the road is being built, beside the already existing one.
Up until now the checkpoint worked only for one direction: the soldiers and their rifles faced only those heading to Qalandiya and Ramalla, so as to prevent Jews (that is settlers) from reaching Qalandiya refugee camp, for fear of a fatal end.
From now on the checkpoint works both ways. This isn't so as to prevent a lynch from accruing but in accordance with vague security mantra: "only a week ago we found a gun in someone's car…"
The soldiers detained a Palestinian vehicle at the post. The three passengers were taken out, their belongings had been piled up on top of the car, their IDs had been taken from them and they were ordered to stand in line as if it were a military parade: a straight and orderly line. Ready and waiting for the dog and his trainer to approach and inspect them.
But the ticking of the camera changed rules of the game, which up until then were a foretold chronicle: Galia, the dog trainer, panicked that her photo might be publicized, she started crying ("problems with her contact lends" we were told- yea right…), she called the supervising officer which was of no help to her since the officer saw nothing wrong with the photo, Galia (an immigrant from the USA) wouldn't let it go and it appeared that she had contacts with people from high levels, and even though she wasn't able to read the copy of our permit, she was able to speak with her superiors. 
At that point the three Palestinian detainees had been released and the three new detainees (us) filled in for them: "A risk for the security of the state", said a soldier while he and his colleges physically blocked our way.
First lieutenant Gil arrived after a few minutes, to personally command on the operation to release Galia's photo from the camera. Gil admitted to having contacted a representative of the IDF spokesman who had explained to him that there was nothing wrong with what we had done, or as he put it: "it was in order", however, he then got a call from the commander of the "Oketz Unit" him self, who had ordered that he delete Galia's photo.
We kept claiming our actions were legal and we waited.
This mutual war of attrition continued for an hour, and when it ended we were sent on our way with all of our belongings, not before Gil told us that:
–Twice a week there is dog attendance regulation,
–The Palestinians have a lot of weapons,
-There can be no comparison made between the Palestinians' processions of arms with that of the settlers', after all this is a reality of a war and not of an occupation, as we had said.
-and that: "A week ago we caught two people who were wanted, they were actual terrorists, said the GSS".
Jaba' (Lil)
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Jaba' (Lil) In fact, the Jaba checkpoint is east of the Qalandiya checkpoint. Its declared purpose is the prevention of Israeli citizens from entering Area A. A road checkpoint for vehicles, located on Road 65, borders the southern fence of Kfar Jaba, about three kilometers east of the Qalandiya checkpoint, on the road leading to the settlement of Adam on Road 60. Archaeological excavations within the village found the remains of a cloth house from the First Temple period. The events that led to the construction of the checkpoint are precisely here: on the day of the abduction of Gilad Shalit and before the outbreak of the Second Lebanon War, a 17-year-old man from one of the settlements was abducted by a Palestinian cell. His body was found several days later at the entrances to Ramallah. A military investigation revealed that his abductors had taken him along this route. The checkpoint was set up to prevent future kidnappings and to warn settlers from traveling to Ramallah and entering Area A (which is forbidden for Israelis). The checkpoint that operates around the clock. Usually only vehicles traveling in the direction of Ramallah are inspected. (November 2016): Every morning, when the settlers en masse travel to Jerusalem on Route 60 and every afternoon they return from Jerusalem on Route 60, the army initiates a traffic jam at the entrance to the Jaba checkpoint and stops the movement of Palestinians traveling toward Route 60. (February 2020): In the last two years the checkpoint has not always been manned. Sometimes the soldiers come and just stand, sometimes they come and stop and check those who enter the village, sometimes they patrol the alleys of the village, sometimes they fire stun grenades and gas and sometimes they invade houses and stop young people, say those passing through the Hazma checkpoint. (Updated February 2020)
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Qalandiya Checkpoint / Atarot Pass (Jerusalem)
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Click here to watch a video from Qalandiya checkpoint up to mid 2019 Three kilometers south of Ramallah, in the heart of Palestinian population. Integrates into "Jerusalem Envelope" as part of Wall that separates between northern suburbs that were annexed to Jerusalem in 1967: Kafr Aqab, Semiramis and Qalandiya, and the villages of Ar-Ram and Bir Nabala, also north of Jerusalem, and the city itself. Some residents of Kafr Aqab, Semiramis and Qalandiya have Jerusalem ID cards. A terminal operated by Israel Police has functioned since early 2006. As of August 2006, northbound pedestrians are not checked. Southbound Palestinians must carry Jerusalem IDs; holders of Palestinian Authority IDs cannot pass without special permits. Vehicular traffic from Ramallah to other West Bank areas runs to the north of Qalandiya. In February 2019, the new facility of the checkpoint was inaugurated aiming to make it like a "border crossing". The bars and barbed wire fences were replaced with walls of perforated metal panels. The check is now performed at multiple stations for face recognition and the transfer of an e-card. The rate of passage has improved and its density has generally decreased, but lack of manpower and malfunctions cause periods of stress. The development and paving of the roads has not yet been completed, the traffic of cars and pedestrians is dangerous, and t the entire vicinity of the checkpoint is filthy. In 2020 a huge pedestrian bridge was built over the vehicle crossing with severe mobility restrictions (steep stairs, long and winding route). The pedestrian access from public transport to the checkpoint from the north (Ramallah direction) is unclear, and there have been cases of people, especially people with disabilities, who accidentally reached the vehicle crossing and were shot by the soldiers at the checkpoint. In the summer of 2021, work began on a new, sunken entrance road from Qalandiya that will lead directly to Road 443 towards Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. At the same time, the runways of the old Atarot airport were demolished and infrastructure was prepared for a large bus terminal. (updated October 2021)
Tamar FleishmanMay-11-2026Qalandiya. Ambulances wait in front of a closed checkpoint
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