Hizma, Jaba (Lil), Qalandiya, יום ב’ 9.11.09, אחה”צ
15:00: At Atarot CP the line of vehicles was short.
15:10 to 15:30 – Qalandiya: Two passageways were active. The soldiers in the examination area allowed 4 people at a time through the turnstiles. No one was waiting in the DCO shed.
15:40: We went through the CP and came out on the Jerusalem side just as a Palestinian ambulance arrived from Ramallah, pulling into the bus parking lot accompanied by Ivan the policeman (who did not have a name tag identifying him, but willingly supplied the information). We spoke to the ambulance driver while he waited for the Jerusalem ambulance to come from Mukassed Hospital and he told us that his passenger was a 9 month old baby with a heart defect who was headed for an operation (with only a 40% chance of success), accompanied by his Mom and a doctor. The Jerusalem ambulance was taking a while to arrive because the traffic jam in the southern square had backed up down the road to Beit Hanina. When it arrived and the child was transferred, we could see that he was sleeping, probably sedated for the journey. At 15:50 the transfer was completed and the ambulance set out for the hospital.
On our way back through the CP to the Palestinian side we noted once again that the biometric machines were out of order. We also noted the strong stench of urine in the northern shed where the toilet facilities have been closed for more than a year and apparently no one washes down the area.
16:00: Arriving back at the CP entrance, we saw that only one passageway was operating. However there were not many people in line, so we made no complaints.
16:08: There were now about 60 people waiting in the one active passageway and another 40 in line in the northern shed. We phoned the Operations Room and they immediately opened a new passageway.
16:30: Both active passageways were full of people and another 20 were waiting in the "cage" in the northern shed. Natanya called the Moked.
16:40: Another lull in the number of people arriving.
17:00: Only one passageway is operating and the lines are growing longer. Soon people leaving work will begin to come through on their way home. We called the Operations Room again. Avital answered and promised to try and help. In no time a new passageway was opened and the lines began to move, but we timed the wait at about 25 minutes.
17:10: We left Qalandiya to return to Jerusalem. There were 17 cars in line at Lil CP. At the Adam intersection, an armed policeman was directing traffic. The line of cars coming from Jerusalem was very long. At Hizmeh CP traffic was flowing
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-27-2025Qalandiya: A beggar woman
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