Ar-Ram, Jaba (Lil), Qalandiya, Sun 13.1.08, Afternoon
Qalandiya
15:00
A-Ram CP: There were no Palestinians at the CP, on foot or
in vehicles. The gate in the Wall was closed and we detoured through
the back streets of A-Ram.
15:15 Qalandiya: Two pedestrian
passages (3 & 4) were operating with only a few people in each.
The passageway to the DCO and the Government offices (5) was closed.
Lizi contacted the DCO offices and the soldiers were instructed to open
the passage. No one was waiting in the DCO shed but we could see
that 2 or 3 were waiting inside the offices. The Government offices
were completely deserted. We asked the postman why the post office
branch was closed last week at 15:30 (although it's supposed to remain
open until 16:00). He said that perhaps the post office had closed
early because no one had come for service for hours. Time and
again we have observed that the soldiers close the passageway so that
people in need of service in the post office (or other offices in the
building) cannot reach them.
Leaving the Government offices we emerged
into the parking lot and returned to the CP. The lines had grown
considerably longer but two passageways were still operating.
A local man approached us with a young woman who needed help.
The woman and her husband, residents of Gaza, had received a one day
permit to reach the hospital in Ramallah. The woman had been released
on Jan. 10 when closure prevailed in honor of Pres. Bush so they could
not return home. Only on Jan. 13th did they apply for
a new permit that would allow them to return to Gaza, and of course
there were problems. I accompanied the woman into the DCO and
heard the explanations offered by Assaf and Husam (DCO representative)
saying that the proper procedure requires that they apply for a permit
at the Palestinian DCO in Ramallah (which performs liaison with the
Erez CP) and afterwards go to receive the permit in Bet El. The
woman, a mother of three, was in despair but she followed Assaf who
promised to release her husband who was being held in the interrogation
room in passageway 3. When I returned to the passageways I was
once again approached by the same local man with two more residents
of Gaza in tow. The two were an old father suffering from pancreatic
cancer accompanied by his son. They also had received a one day
permit to reach the hospital in Ramallah. The father had been
released on Sunday morning and they were trying to return home that
afternoon. This time the authorities forewent their insistence
on proper procedures, because the father looked as though he would not
last that long. A call to the humanitarian hotline lit a fire
under the soldiers in the DCO office who received permission to do the
impossible and issue a permit within the hour. Husam was also
very helpful and, when he heard that the father had not had a bite to
eat all day, ran off and returned bringing a tray-full of food.
It would be wonderful if people could be this helpful all the time.
Because I spent so much time in the DCO,
Lizi was left to cover the CP on her own. Here's her report:
15:42 – The violent young fellow (whom
we see at Qalandiya very often) tried to enter the pedestrian passageways
of the CP. The soldier at the entrance locked the carousel (…so
I breathed easier). Several dozen people were waiting to pass.
Two passageways were operating. Waiting time was ca. 10 minutes.
A soldier giving instructions over the PA system spoke quietly (which
means there was no distortion and he could be understood).
15:59 – The vehicle passageways:
From time to time soldiers stop trucks heading for Ramallah to check
papers and loads. Although each such examination takes only from
one to two minutes, the result is a long line of vehicles which is freed
every time a truck is released.
A female soldier from the canine search
unit was present but there was no sign of any dogs.
The view to Atarot Industrial Park showed
a long line of vehicles waiting at the CP there. Passage was apparently
very slow. It was difficult to tell what was happening at this
distance but it was easy to see that the line was growing longer all
the time.
16:24 – I returned to the pedestrian
passageways and the violent young fellow noticed me and called to me.
I tried to slip away into the CP but this time he managed to follow,
jumped the lines and entered the examination area, poked into the x-ray
machine and came out again. I stayed in line and went through
to the vehicle area once again. Passage took only one or two minutes
as the CP was almost empty.
17:04 – An ambulance arrived from Ramallah
with a one-year old lying unconscious and connected to all kinds of
pipes. He was transferred to an Israeli ambulance to be taken
to Jerusalem.
At this point I could no longer feel
my feet – they weren't even cold, just completely frozen. It's
cold not just because the sun has set and the temperature has dropped
even further, it's cold because it's Qalandiya. It's cold because
of all the hungry and neglected children we can see there.
On the way to Bir Nabala we saw groups
of youngsters crowding around a small campfire in the middle of the
square trying to get warm.
17:10: Back out to the pedestrian
passageways. Now, when people are leaving work and hurrying home
in the cold of evening, only one passageway is working. The line
for passageway 4 is very long. We phoned the humanitarian hotline
and they promised to do something. We didn't wait to see but drove
to Bir Nabala.
17:45: Bir Nabala: The unit
manning the CP opened two checking lanes so vehicles were passing rapidly
with no delays. There was no residency criterion in place for
entering the town – anyone could.
18:15: Lil CP: A line of
20 vehicles waited in the uphill lane to pass through Lil but the delay
was not very long. We asked the soldiers if Israeli's were allowed
to pass through towards Qalandiya and they said that passage was permitted
and the soldiers were just making sure that Israeli's were aware that
the road went to Ramallah (off-limits for Israeli's).
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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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-31-2026Qalandiya. Human remains or clothing remains
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