Ar-Ram, Hizma, Qalandiya
Qalandiya:
The sweeping wind, ceaseless rain and strike of the public-services caused scant presence of Palestinians both on the roads and at the checkpoint.
Those who did manage to come and stand at the entrance of the DCO offices were a middle-aged man accompanied by a tall, silent young man (body guard?). The locked entrance did not bother the man, who said “I’m a senior official of the Palestinian Authority” and added that he should not be coming to them, they should be coming to him to bring him the permits he requested. And indeed, a few minutes later it did indeed happen just as he said. I suppose that when one hand washes the other, no waiting lines and harassment are in store.
“That’s fine, don’t you think?” he asked. “No, not at all” I answered.
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The main entrance to A-Ram looked like a war zone. Boys armed with stones and slingshots, facing soldiers armed with rifles and grenades, and they all hurled stones and fired at each other.
A cloud of teargas lay on the ground and did not disperse.
The active ingredients in the teargas grenades have perhaps/probably been changed. In fact, I have never encountered such horrible might, and I have never in my life escaped as fast as I did this time.
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It’s been a week since the Israeli army invaded the village of Hizma, took over the entrances and exits, and blocked vehicles from using the main village access.
The soldiers inspect IDs of the people arriving and allow only village residents to enter. Why? – “They’re throwing stones”, the soldiers said. And also:
“We’ll punish them until they learn to behave.”
“They’re strangling us”, said a friend from Hizma.
A-Ram
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two kilometers south of Qalandiya and 300 metres north of Neve Yaacov Junction, in Dahiyat el-Barid Quarter. Checkpoint has operated since 1991, in a Palestinian area annexed to Jerusalem in 1967. The checkpoint has been inactive since the middle of 2009.
The wall was built on the road that led to Jerusalem. Since then the situation in the town has deteriorated. Houses are abandoned and half finished, most of the businesses have closed. Severe neglect around the fence and on the streets. Those who could left. Updated January 2024
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Hizma
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Hizma
A checkpoint at the north-eastern entrance to the Jerusalem area which was annexed in 1967, at Pisgat Zeev. The passage is allowed to bearers of blue IDs only. Open 24 hours a day.
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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 FleishmanJun-8-2025Qalandiya: Emptiness in public space
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