In many settlements in the Hebron governorate - water allocation only once a week
Once again everyone witnessed the injustice named “back-to-back” in the Israeli army’s laundered terminology.
Once again, a bunch of ‘security guards’ and a girl-soldier did not consider that by doing so they were treating a helpless ill patient as an object, concentrating on fulfilling procedures, following orders, tediously watching every single written regulation, rather than carrying out an action of saving a life.
Once again, the members of the Red Crescent medical team appeased the armed personnel by following their instructions as quickly as possible so as not to be detained and manage to bring the patient to the designated hospital while still alive.
Once again IDs photographed, bags inspected, the colors are of the essence rather than the human being, as proven in the internal communication system’s call “passed from red to green”…
Away from there, friends residing in Bani Na’im said they have no water in their village as in many nearby villages in the Hebron district. Just one day a week in the faucets, just one day a week.
Human beings desperately need water to drink, to wash hands, take showers, clean the house, flush toilets, water the garden and more. But there is no water. Only once a week.
I know there are different committees and numerous different agreements about allotting water and the price to be paid, and I also know that Israel has sequestered all the water reservoirs in the West Bank from the Palestinians, and it alone controls this so-vital resource.
All of this does not enable one to escape the thought that in the colonies surrounding Palestinian localities water flows limitless.
We also spoke about a guy who was released from prison after half a year there, and friends who met him asked: Who is this? He was so thin they did not recognize him. That is what it’s like in Ofer. No food, Ahmad said.
Qalandiya Checkpoint / Atarot Pass (Jerusalem)
See all reports for this place-
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 FleishmanApr-26-2026Qalandiya. Things you see on the way
-