‘Atara, Qalandiya, Sun 6.11.11, Afternoon
Translator: Charles K.
Qalandiya checkpoint:
Eid al-Adha, the festival of the sacrifice. The tradition on the first evening of the holiday is to visit daughters who married and, according to custom, moved to live with their husband’s family
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Large numbers of people, almost all of them men, massed at the checkpoint. We couldn’t see the end of the line of vehicles stretching along the road from Ramallah to the checkpoint.
Most shops were closed for the holiday. Only the little peddlers have no holiday or vacation. They wretchedly continued their efforts to sell their meager offerings to anyone who happened to come by, as they do all year long.
Yazn (in the photo with Jibril), the tiniest of all, a boy who never smiles, whose face is marked by illness or by the scars of fists – that Yazn, who up to now has held back and avoided contact with us, perhaps now, when his father, who’s been in jail for a week, no longer inspired fear, stopped and whispered, eyes bleak and voice hushed, not flinching from a touch or caress, when asked, “Are you doing anything on the holiday?,” 
replied: “I’m working…”
Atara/Bir-Zeit:
It must have been the cold west wind that kept the soldiers huddled in the tower rather than coming down as they usually do – to ask/rebuke/yell/threaten.
Only one head appeared suddenly from the window, photographing us photographing him.
Palestinians driving by waved hello, calling out greetings. None dare stop within range of the checkpoint. They know why, know what they’re afraid of.
'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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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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