Qalandiya: My Friends
My Friends
I stood at the entrance to the vehicle checkpoint and watched its activity from a distance. Suddenly, hands waved at me and a police officer’s mouth opened and closed. Because of the distance, I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but his body language said it all. When I didn’t respond, the officer approached me shouting and threatening, and ended his speech with: “Yalla, yalla, go away, go to your friends.”
So I went to “my friends”.
I came to the children and teenagers who break my heart. I sat next to David the corn vendor, whose scent is delightful and whose fire keeps the cold away, and I was surrounded by children and teens — my friends.
And all that time, like a nagging mosquito, the images of the starving, freezing, and murdered children in Gaza buzz in my mind. I know that compared to them, “my friends” are relatively fortunate — and yet, there is no reason in the world why the lives of children who haven’t even turned ten should be crushed under the weight of poverty, deprivation, and endless threats.
On the way back, I wanted to approach the ambulance waiting for its counterpart to transfer our humanitarian offering in a back-to-back procedure. But again, I was blocked by that same officer — with his body, his weapon, and his shouting mouth. Again came the “Yalla yalla,” again the “Only I speak, not you.” Then he turned to his obedient subordinates and said, “Later she’ll say in the media, they did this and that…” And as he continued yelling and threatening, I understood that what walks like Ben-Gvir, shouts like Ben-Gvir, and threatens like Ben-Gvir, probably belongs to a sect with which I have no dialogue — and can never have one. Fascism has taken over the law, over compassion, and over whatever good was left.
Location Description
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 FleishmanApr-16-2025Qalandiya: summer fruit
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