Hizma, Qalandiya
Qalandiya and Hizme
“Today they are suffering terribly” said Abu Majdi, who drives patients every day to Augusta Victoria Hospital (East Jerusalem), for this is the only hospital equipped to give Palestinian cancer patients radiation treatment.
Not that they don’t suffer every day, but today they suffer than ever. Today something went wrong with the equipment at Augusta Victoria Hospital and the first patient was only let in after a 3-hour wait.
“Film us, film us”, said the people at Hizme village.
“No filming, no filming” shouted the soldiers.
“Film us”, the people insisted. “This is what bothers them most”.
“You can film the barrier as much as you want, just don’t film us” said the soldiers.
“On Thursday it will be 4 weeks since this has been closed”, said a person who makes sure to count the days, and then told us about the army incursions into the village, every day and especially at night. And that last night three jeeps came in, “took two boys, a 16-year old and a 17-year old”.
“We have no choice, they throw stones”, said the soldiers.
When they realized they cannot control the camera, they wanted to talk, and a strange group of occupiers and occupied gathered, people with guns and people threatened by the guns, and I among them, and we spoke about leadership and life conditions here (Hizme) and there (in the settlements) and about collective punishment, and possible solutions, and even about Marwan Barghouti (Palestinian resistance leader in Israeli prison).
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-25-2025Qalandia: West Bank man injured in both legs
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