Qalandiya, Wed 4.6.08, Afternoon
The checkpoint –
terminal so-called sterile at 15.50 and high technology is present again as was
at the beginning of the second intifada. All the appearances of small wicked
deeds which we have seen at the less developed checkpoints. Once again carts of
vendors are confiscated. Yesterday two were confiscated, one of the coffee
vendor and one of the sweet seller. The confiscation of the one was carried out
according to the vendor by soldiers of Ducifat who gave it over to the police
and they handed it over to the municipality of Jerusalem to the Department of
Supervision. The slogan of the removal was "the demand to remove wrecks of
cars."
The form:
The goods were
confiscated by the Department of Supervion of Nafat. (Northm, the Duckfat
patrol. Jerusalem 5835148 ( which does not
reply).
The contents
confiscated: 1 ballon gas, 1 milk container, one water container and a heating
device, sugar, coffee, a tin finjan, a car.
We approached the
municipality of
Jerusalem and at the
information we were informed that the story was not true and any this is not the
way things are done.
When we asked the
responsible authority at the checkpoint why the carts had been taken he said
"They can open their kiosks in Ramallah."
The poor man whose cart
was taken said that he has many children and no way now of making a living. He
has no permit and he cannot get to Jerusalem to deal with the matter and to get
his cart back. He said he had not been warned that he could not have a cart in
the area of the checkpoint. In fact the exact opposite…in the morning he and the
soldiers would greet one another. Now according to the drivers was that one
soldier demanded Marlborough cigarettes and another had decided
that no one could go through his turnstile with food. Another turnstile allows
food. These are the private enterprises of the soldiers and not policy.
The people have
developed a sense of humour to combat the pressure and the humiliations. The
women who push the turnstiles even when they are closed tell one another jokes.
There is always the fear that one will get stuck in the turnstiles even though
efforts are made to keeps the checkpoint sterile with no contact between the
soldiers and the Palestinians. There is always the desire to show who is boss.
The motto is to bother
the Palestinians and break them
Qalandiya Checkpoint / Atarot Pass (Jerusalem)
See all reports for this place-
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 FleishmanApr-12-2026Qalandiya. Abdallah at his fruit stand
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