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Hizma, Qalandiya

Observers: Vivi Suri, Tamar Fleishman; Translator: Charles K.
May-15-2016
| Afternoon

Qalandiya, Hizma

 

Samira, from Jenin, is six and has been handicapped since birth.

 

 

She knows only two words, but that doesn’t prevent her from talking constantly even though no one, including her mother, understands her or what she means.  But her smile speaks for itself and shows she means well.

 

Samira’s younger sister has also been handicapped from birth.  Her sister can’t walk or stand and is very, very quiet.  Too quiet.

 

Samira and her sister left home this morning with their mother and an aunt and an awkward child’s stroller and a few heavy bags, heading toward the Al-Amira Basama Center on the Mount of Olives, which treats children with special needs and their parents.  They have an appointment for three weeks of treatment:

http://makom-m.cet.ac.il/pages/item.asp?s=3&id=46&defid=78&page=5&item=1380

 

 

It isn’t easy to travel from Jenin to Qalandiya with two handicapped children, but going through the checkpoint was almost impossible.  Holding the children, carrying the bags, folding the stroller and sliding it through the bars of the turnstile requires more than the mother’s and aunt’s four hands.

 

And at the checkpoint, after the stroller had been folded and pushed through and reopened and they all stood at lane number 1 and almost, almost…the lane closed and number 4 opened instead.  And again they stood on line, and folded the stroller, and dragged the bags, and shoved the stroller through the bars, and when they all stood facing the soldier who conducted the inspection and ensured that the documents and the permits are valid and signed, he declared:  “You can go through here, the stroller has to go through lane number 1” (which had reopened).

 

Why?  Because only the scanner at lane 1 is large enough for the stroller.

 

And the strolled was again opened and rolled to lane number 1, and again was folded, and lay on the conveyor belt that was large enough to hold it, and travelled through to the other side, and was opened again, and rolled along the corridor, and was again folded and pushed through the bars of the final turnstile and was then opened and exited, and lo, has reached Jerusalem.

 

Last week a pipe bomb exploded on Highway 60, near the entrance to .

 

In response, the army blocked both entrances to the village.

 

Because that’s what the army does whenever a bomb goes off anywhere.

 

Isn’t that so?

 

That’s what it does in Netanya when someone plants a bomb.

 

That’s how it blockades all the entrances and exits to Tel Aviv whenever there’s an assassination or settling of accounts between criminals.

 

Isn’t that so?

 

“How do we know who did it?

Do they think we’re magicians?,” a resident of the village said angrily.

  • 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.

  • 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)  
      קלנדיה: תושב הגדה פצוע בשתי רגליו
      *Tamar Fleishman
      Jun-25-2025
      Qalandia: West Bank man injured in both legs
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