‘Atara, Hizma, Jaba (Lil), Qalandiya, Sun 5.12.10, Afternoon
"Come look, a leftist…", a soldier hollered to her colleague, as Roni, a rare bird which is in extinction, revealed herself before her eyes.
The children of Qalandiya are no longer begging us for money, but only ask that their picture be taken. Next time they meet us, they will each receive a copy of their own photo- a souvenir (perhaps the only one) for their childhood album.
Jaba checkpoint is once again functioning only on the road leading west; Those driving on it are the only ones to be halted and inspected to make sure there isn't a Jewish passenger amongst them, in which event he wouldn't be permitted to continue for fear he might be attacked by a resident from Qalandiya.
"Blessed are you, who did not make me a gentile"– so was written (by a Jew) on the side of the wall which faces the settlements Adam and Ofra, and also Kfar Jaba.
A lit Chanukkia made out of bullet casings was placed on the window of the high tower at Atara checkpoint.
Two of the soldiers in side came down to talk to us: "this isn't a checkpoint"¸said one of them, "it's a military base…"
"No", said the other, "it's a post…"
They talked a lot in favor of the checkpoint, especially the one who lives in Gush-Etzyon. He said he knew his "Arab" neighbors better than we did, he speaks to them and employs them: "They like us very much and know that their problem is with the Palestinian Authority". He also told us about the way the checkpoint benefits the Palestinians who use it: "There was an accident over here on Saturday and we provided them with medical help…"
For the first time at Hizme checkpoint, or at any other checkpoint for that matter, while passing from Palestine to Greater Jerusalem, we had noticed the presence of a police unit of dog trainer.
The following text was written by our guest Liat, who came with us on our shift:
Like a tourist I roam the country, an ambiguous term in itself.
Make quick trips to the West Bank, trying, with little success, to put together the layout of the districts in my head.
Like a tourist I roam the country and yesterday I arrived at a checkpoint.
But once I managed see it, the country turned into a land filled with checkpoints- some more horrible and some less than the first monster I had seen at Qalandiya.
I had never arrived at that place with the air-conditioned bus which I had paid for, or which had been funded by the Ministry of Tourism. And certainly not with the one funded by the Ministry of Education.
This time I came by foot, wrapped up, without fear and it was cold.
Ronni was the first to enter.
"Are you an Israeli?", "Aren't you afraid to be there?" (On the other side of the checkpoint she meant), and Ronni answered that she wasn't.
"Are you a leftist?" she added before joyfully telling her friend: "come look at the leftists". I approached the see-through wall after her, "Are you also a leftist?" (Perhaps she meant an Israeli), she asked, I answered that I was. "May I take a picture of you?" she continued. "You may, only if I may take a picture of you", I answered.
She focused on the badge that Tamar had given me earlier and asked: "against the checkpoints?", "could you give me one reason why checkpoints are bad?" suddenly her friend in the booth found an interest, they both were eager to hear my answer and the spark in their eyes indicated that they wanted an answer that would convince them. The five of us, at that moment, had the leisure to stand there while just behind us was a long line of people.
I couldn't think of one reason, not pain, not fear, not chill, not helplessness, not difficulty, none of those had occurred to me. I just wanted to get out of the line, which wasn't an actual problem for me since she didn't even really check my ID. While we chatted away about the necessity of the checkpoints, a Palestinian student who was in line after me had her book wedged in the conveyor belt. It was wedged deep inside and in order to get it out the soldier had to move the belt to the opposite direction. Most of the book was ruined, I'm sure that won't affect the way she reads the text.
Liat.
'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 FleishmanJun-8-2025Qalandiya: Emptiness in public space
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