Hizma, Qalandiya
Qalandiya and Hizma
I meant to photograph the patient who was released just a few hours ago from treatment at Al Najah Hospital in Nablus and was transferred from one stretcher to another and from one ambulance to another, because I wished to tell of the long while he must drag on until he finally reaches his Gaza home.
I also wished to write that the Israeli mantra “We left Gaza” is a blatant lie, and that Israel continues to control the lives and deaths of every single inhabitant of the Gaza Strip, and hard – nearly impossible – it is to obtain a permit to exit Gaza even when life is at stake.
And then I looked at the photo and saw the rifle and the hand and the soldier’s stance and knew (yet again) that they, the soldier and the hand and the rifle, represent the power that drives and enables this violent apparatus to control the lives of millions of humans entirely devoid of rights.
The people of Hizma are hard-headed.
It’s been over a week already that every day someone or other arrives with a heavy vehicle and chain and removes one of the concrete slabs that the army placed here two months ago as collective punishment.
“They throw stones”, say the soldiers.
And every evening the soldiers arrive with their heavy vehicle, place the moved slb back in its line and to the punishment add violent patrols, the hurling of teargas and stun grenades and wholesale arrests.
But the people of Hizma are hard-headed.
Despite all the shit they’ve been handed for so long, they do not grow accustomed nor lower their heads, and once again the next day someone or other arrives with their heavy vehicle and chain, and moves one of the concrete slabs and traffic flows in and out again and then the army returns and places the slab back in its place, again and again.
“It’s we who do this”, say the people with their collective pride.
We is not I.
We is togetherness.
We is the power.
Every single stop along the way reminded Seamus of the remains of British occupation in North Ireland that are still evident here and there in his city, Belfast.
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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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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