‘Atarot, Hizma, Jaba (Lil), Qalandiya, Mon 31.5.10, Afternoon
We were a little anxious as we set out – friends had called to warn us that we were in for a difficult day (battles, stone throwing, tension, who knows?). We listened to the radio all the way to the CP, hoping to hear some information on what was going on. But all was quiet (after the morning's disturbances), and the CP looked quite abandoned. I always thought that things were terrible when the CP was full to overflowing, but it turns out that empty CP's portend no good either. There is simply nothing good about a CheckPoint.
15:20: Atarot CP: There is no CP anymore! All the cement blocks and attendant paraphernalia (spike strips/tire shredders) have been removed and the traffic is flowing. It seems that the CP has been moved to Highway 443. We had no time to visit today, will do so next week.
15:30: Qalandiya CP: The CP was almost deserted. A handful of Palestinian workers were sitting in the northern shed, waiting for a lift home. The coffee vendor was not around, so we asked the sweets vendor about the day's events. He said that he had arrived at 2 PM, that all had been quiet and the CP deserted. While we were talking to Suleiman, a man aged 45-50 whom we have often seen at Qalandiya, someone who passes the CP on a daily basis, came over to speak with us. His name is Nasser.
Short Story: Where is Nasser?
Nasser is a Palestinian man who holds a permit to enter Jerusalem to conduct his business. His job is to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to many institutional clients in Jerusalem – hospitals, yeshivas, etc. Yesterday he arrived at Qalandiya on his was to Hadassah Hospital to prepare a list of products for shipment.
Nasser told us that he had come with a group of friends and gotten in line at the carousel at the CP entrance. The soldier in the post controlling the entrance allowed all those ahead of Nasser in line to enter the CP but locked the carousel when it was Nasser's turn. Then the soldier announced that the adjacent carousel was open, so all those behind Nasser rushed out to join the new line. At this point, the soldier told Nasser that he had a job for him to do. He told Nasser that he must tell all those sitting in the shed to leave. Nasser refused to obey the order (he doesn't work for the IDF) and the soldier replied that until he did as he was told he would not be allowed to enter the CP. Each time that Nasser stood in line and reached the carousel, the soldier locked him out.
Natanya and I started to phone everyone we could think of to solve the problem. Headquarters promised to help. The DCO offices didn't answer. We asked Headquarters to put us in touch with the DCO representative, which they did, but the representative was not at the CP. He promised to speak with the soldier by phone. After a while, we approached the fence and tried to talk to the soldier in the post. He wouldn't open the window so that our conversation was conducted in pantomime. But we managed to understand that there was no problem, that Nasser could enter the CP. We told Nasser and got in line behind him at the carousel. As promised, the carousel turned and Nasser (and we as well) went into the CP. As he passed, the PA system announced that Passageway No. 4 was open. As 8 people were waiting on line in Passageway No. 2, Nasser went straight to No. 4. As we waited in the internal passageway, I noticed that the soldier at the entrance was talking on the phone. So was the soldier in the "aquarium" in Passageway 4. After waiting for several minutes, I suddenly thought that perhaps the two soldiers were talking with each other: were they setting a trap for Nasser? I suggested to Nasser that he should get in line and present his papers at No.2 in order to avoid any further problems, but Nasser was not suspicious and the minute the carousel opened he went in to No. 4. As he presented his papers to the soldier in the window, the soldier ordered him to enter the "examination room." Nasser disappeared from view and we didn't see him again.
Natanya and Lindsay crossed to the Jerusalem side of the CP while I waited on the Palestinian side, but Nasser never appeared. Later on I went through Passageway 4 and asked the soldier if Nasser was still inside. As expected, the soldier told me it was none of my business and turned his back on me.
We were at Qalandiya CP until 5 PM. We still don't know what happened to Nasser and we don't have his phone number either.
Back at the CP:
While Natanya and Lindsay waited to enter the CP at the northern entrance, the (same) soldier in the post moved them back and forth from one carousel to another, yelling at them.
Another little CP curiosity: We know from experience that the magnetometer in Passageway 4 is very sensitive, particularly to women's buckles, and so Passageway 4 is usually reserved for men only. However, when I went through this Passageway yesterday, after placing all my belongings in the X-ray machine, I discovered to my consternation that I had forgotten my car keys in my pocket. I had no alternative but to go through the magnetometer with the keys in my hand – but the machine did not chirp. I went through again twice, keys in hand, to put trays in position at the mouth of the machine – no chirping! What happened?
17:00: We left Qalandiya to return to Jerusalem. There was no one at Lil/Jabba CP aside from three bored soldiers, no Palestinian cars. At Hizmeh, traffic was light and flowing freely.
'Atarot
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Atarot
Atarot was a workers' settlement destroyed during the War of Independence, where the Arab village of Qalandiya now stands, in the southwestern part of Atarot Airport, built by the British Mandate. After 1967, the Atarot industrial zone was established nearby, and until the completion of the wall from the Qalandiya checkpoint to Road 443, a checkpoint was in place. A new Jewish neighborhood is currently planned for the old airport area.
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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-25-2025Qalandia: West Bank man injured in both legs
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