Bir Zeit/’Atara, Qalandiya, Sun 16.10.11, Afternoon
Translation: Ruth Fleishman
Qalandiya:
Ever since Rosh Hashanah all bus passengers are taken off the vehicle and forced to walk through the checkpoint that is on the other side, the old one.
When the checkpoint for the residence of Jerusalem was opened ten months earlier, elders, babies and pregnant women were permitted to pass while still seated in the bus. As of now- it is no longer so.
Professor Nadim Masis, a philosophy lecturer in Bir Zeit University approached us, he is forced to pass at the checkpoint quite often on account of his job. Angry and frustrated he asked: "What are you doing to make this situation and this behavior towards human beings end?". He was carrying a medical document specifying his illnesses, his disabilities and all the different kinds of medicine which had been prescribed for him, he was advised to carry it so as to make the passage easier. For professor Masis every physical effort and agitation presents a risk to his life. According to him, when he shows this document to the soldiers, instead of being considerate towards him, they are disregarding and rude.
He started talking about his unstable medical condition and proceeded by discussing the state of the Palestinian nation: "There was much hope when Obama was elected, but Obama is, as were his predecessors captivated by the Jewish lobby… Why don't they (the Israelis) let us live in peace? I want to have a good neighboring relationship with the Israelis. Why do they keep hindering all opportunities for two states? I think they mean to overtake the entire West Bank, to take all of our land. What they want is for us to go away. But aren't we human beings? Where would I go? Yes, I have a profession, I have a diploma, but it's impossible for me, at my age, to start a whole new life somewhere else. After all, in fifty years there will be more of us than Israelis, what will they do then? Will they continue to say even then that it all belongs to them, as was written in the bible?
And you know what the worst thing is? That no one sees us: the Israelis don't see us, the world doesn't see us, even the Arabs in the Arab countries don't see us…"
Although we don't have the power to change reality, not that of professor Nadim Masis nor that of his people, the least we can do is write and publicize what he said, make his anguish and his pain for himself and for the general public known.
Atara/ Bir Zeit checkpoint:
After seeing the picture in the link below, we rushed over
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http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=159486497455768&set=a.102657289805356.4458.100001832556684&type=1&theater
But all we saw was a checkpoint manned by soldiers who were either to terrified to step outside of their fort or weren't allow to do so, while crowds of Palestinians passed by waving and greeting us as they drove off.
They fear that if they stop the soldiers would come down from the pillbox and they might end up like those in the linked photo.
A kind of balance of terror is found there- each side terrified of the other.
'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 FleishmanJun-8-2025Qalandiya: Emptiness in public space
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