Jaba (Lil), Qalandiya
As in previous weeks it was quiet until 5.25. All the passages and windows were working. But things went slowly and the queue lengthened into two lines right into the parking lot. A Palestinian man stood on guard and did not allow the youngsters to push into the line. We had not seen this before. But this only lasted about 10 minutes after our arrival. A young hooligan would not listen to the orders of the “supervisor” and started pushing. Within a minute most of those who had been sitting on the benches joined in pushing and shoving. Again people climbed on top of one another and the older people gave way. The “supervisor” disappeared. Many of the workers complained about their fellow countryman. Three soldiers in the aquarium, a woman and man soldier and a policeman. Maya asks the woman soldier to quicken the entrance of the people to the windows because as soon as they get through there is no more violence. “I am doing my duty. Do not interfere.” Luckily another soldier arrives, evidently of a higher tank and creates an inner twisting passage (such as is done at the airport) on the other side of the exterior passage and this makes it possible for larger groups to enter. This blessed change calms the atmosphere.
The older men wait at the side not wanting to be injured. Someone says that last week one worker had two ribs broken.
The humanitarian line opens at 6.15 and there is a long line. People who despaired of the pushing hope that that they will be allowed through. They delay the women and those who can pass. The gate opens every 5 minutes until the line goes through. Only those who have the right are allowed to do so.
Natanya speaks to a man of 42 who tells her he has never had a happy day in his life. Maya finds a young man who last week claimed that he was a gynecologist nurse who has completed his course at Bethlehem university and is looking for work. Maya had said that she would try to help him. She found him and showed him details that might be able to help him. He did not himself try to find her. He was a bit surprised that she had actually taken the trouble to do so and thanked her and said that he would let her know next week how his affairs were progressing. So let us hope.
At about 7.30 the line was shorter and calm. We left at 7.45. Went back through Lil which was manned by two soldiers but the way was open. The road from Qalandiya to A-ram is filthy, unbelievable. It reminds us of the shed which once again this morning was full of tins and the remains of foot and cigarettes.
The usual horrible morning.
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 FleishmanMay-13-2025Qalandiya: Back-to-back procedure for transferring patients
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