‘Atara, Hizma, Jaba (Lil), Qalandiya, יום ב’ 11.5.09, אחה”צ
Natanya translating
14.28 Atarot. So as to avoid the traffic jams caused by the visit of the Pope I came in on road 443 and turned into Atarot. The line of cars reached the crossroads and it took me 14 minutes get through. The truck in front was stopped to be checked by the soldiers.
15.10 After I met Natanya we went back to Atarot and saw that the truck was just being freed. In other words it had been stopped for half an hour.
15.20 At Qalandiya there were 3 lines of pedestrians but hardly any people at the checkpoint. So too at the car lane.
In the parking area an Israeli ambulance waited for a woman in labour to arrive from the occupied territories. The drivers said that they had suggested to the soldiers at the checkpoint that they themselves should go to fetch the woman (as they understood that the birth was imminent) but where not allowed through. They had to call on a Palestinian ambulance to bring her to Qalandiya. The ambulance did arrive at 15.32 but had to wait 10 minutes to get permission to come through. 15.42. The young woman, frightened and in pain was moved over in the Israeli ambulance which went to the Mokassah hospital within 2 minutes. Her husband who had brought her was not allowed to go through with her.
15.50 Because there were no problems at Qalandiya we decided to the checkpoint at Atara.
16.30 At Atara we were amazed at the long line of cars on the road above Bira/Bir Zeit which went up the hill, about 80 cars. The unit which was made up of reservist soldiers who received us pleasantly and answered our questions. They had had arrived at the checkpoint 4 days ago. They explained that there is always a long line at this time of day. (From our experience this is NOT so….everything depends on how the soldiers are handline the checkpoint.) They said that they were checking cars randomly. But there randomness was very large it seems. While we were there they checked out three vans very carefully, 1 bus and a car of a travelling and private clinic. All the passengers had to get out and their documents were checked. Also their parcels one by one. Also a soldier opened and checked the engine and the baggage compartment. Each check took about 10 minutes according to the number of passengers. The soldiers said that they had no special warning about an alert.
But aside from the careful checking another check was done when a car stopped in the lane and the driver was asked to open the baggage compartment and then went on his way.
In the meantime the line at the top of the hill became even longer and we saw cars arriving from side roads in an attempt to bypass the line. And all this horrible story took place at the checkpoint which is meant for harrassement, a checkpoint between Ramallah and the surrounding villages in the heart of Palestine.
The question is if the soldiers at the checkpoint make their own rules. Atara should be visited more often.
We left at 15. 20 and went back to Jerusalem through Hizma where there was pressure but the traffic went through slowly but surely.
'Atara
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'Atara Checkpoint
Situated at the northern entrance to Ramallah from Route 465, called also Bir Zeit Checkpoint. Nowadays only remains of what used to be a busy checkpoint remain, a pillbox and concrete blocks.
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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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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 FleishmanApr-26-2026Qalandiya. Things you see on the way
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