Hizma, Jaba (Lil), Qalandiya, יום ב’ 8.6.09, בוקר
From 2:30 till 500 PM
Ramot CP, Beit Iksa, Bidu, ‘sunken road', Bir Naballa, Semiramis, Qalandiya and Leel.
It was a hot day and we were extremely fortunate to have aYehudit E. as our guest -an excellent guide. Therefore we were not sorry to spend most of our shift exploring new vistas in Orit's air-conditioned car.
On our way to Beit Iksa we saw that the gate on the Eastern side of the Ramot CP was open. Apparently trucks building the continuation of the wall South of the Givat Zeev CP were using the old road to New Beit Hanina. As we approached the soldiers and guards at the CP were shouting and whistling at us (Hee-Haw) – we continued a little up the hill and didn't see much and then proceeded to talk with the soldiers. We were told that the area is completely off-limits to us, but the official information could not be produced. Apparently the orthodox Jews from Ramot also try to take a shortcut to Nebi Samuel through the gate and are not allowed to do so – ‘it is extremely dangerous'. A political discussion followed. The commander finally agreed with us that Palestinians may also have some claims, but his colleague was not at all convinced and decided that it is a fact that God loves ‘us' more – so there you are! We left.
Turning right at a fork in Beit Iksa we reached the gate which we was familiar to us on its eastern side, located beyond the new settlement of Mount Samuel across the road from Nebi Samuel. And continued to the left
where road and wall construction was on the way. There was a CP and border police for traffic from the other direction, which we ignored. We reached Bidu where we received further instructions at a large gas station. The road turned right and downhill and then changed into a newly asphalted road with signs wishing us a pleasant trip. Down and down we drove and reached the area under the New Givon with its interrupted tunnels over a length of about 1.5 km. Then turning left to close to the Eastern side of the Givat Zeev CP.
We decided to inspect the changes at that CP another week, because we feared being turned away and continued until we reached Bit Naballa from the North and turned left into the new road which knew from earlier shifts under Road 443 leading straight to the village of Qalandia and to the left towards Ramalla. There was no CP at all and we proceeded unhindered to Semiramis where we turned right at the tailors' shop under the Galaxy sign over the road and reached Qalandia. There was a long queue of vehicles into Jerusalem
and since it was getting late, we decided to proceed to the Hizme CP via Leel, where no one checked us. We tried to check the road we took on maps and were unable to find any sign of the ‘sunken' hidden, mysterious secret road. There were no signs whatsoever pointing to any Palestinian village or town. No soldier stopped us nor did we pass any CP on the long way around from Ramot until Hizme..
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 FleishmanNov-30-2025Qalandiya: Puddles and dirt after the rain
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