Hizma, Jaba (Lil), Qalandiya, Mon 28.12.09, Afternoon
15:40: Atarot: The line of cars was short.
16:00: Qalandiya: There were very few people at the CP during the length of our shift. There were no lines in the northern shed. Three passageways were open the whole time, and the number of people waiting in line was generally quite small.
After explaining to our guest (an elderly Hebrew-speaking woman, a foreign resident who holds an Israeli passport) the workings of the CP, we went inside and tried to go through one of the passageways. We forgot to take into account the serious amount of metal jewelry that our guest was wearing. When she went through the magnetometer, everything began to ring. She returned for another try and the ringing started again. And then the soldier on duty in the booth began to yell at her (in Arabic) to remove her jewelry. She patiently explained to him that she was unable to remove the jewelry (because of her arthritic bones) and then she remembered that she also had a pacemaker and, actually, was not permitted to go through the magnetic device at all. The soldiers were completely at a loss, nervously examining their manuals to find out how to deal with such a special case. They also phoned their officers to ask about procedures. In the end, our guest found a letter from her doctor confirming the pacemaker and the soldiers allowed her through the CP without further ado. But the question remains: what happens to a Palestinian with a pacemaker?
16:30: On emerging into the southern square, everything looked much as usual. The line of cars at Atarot reached almost as far as the turn in the road (ca. 25 vehicles).
16:50: There were no lines at Qalandiya CP and three passageways were still operating. As we were on our way to the MachsomWatch meeting, we left Qalandiya to return to Jerusalem. At Lil/Jabba CP there was a line of 12 cars that was moving slowly. There were no lines at Hizmeh.
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-8-2025Qalandiya: Emptiness in public space
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