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Jaba (Lil), Qalandiya

Observers: Ronnie H., Tamar F., Judith G. (translator)
Nov-23-2014
| Afternoon
"Is this the way to the secret service?"  a woman asked.  Just like that, to the "secret service".  Not to the offices, not to the DCO, not to the post office, to the "secret service"..  Because, as much they try to hide and launder and beautify, it remains filthy, black and obvious.
It is the "Secret Service".
But, it is also not easy to get to the secret service.  You have to overcome several metallic obstacles and you have to shout to the female soldier with whom you can't otherwise communicate because for several years already the intercom system has been disconnected.  So what else can one do than bang on the metal sheet fastened to the gate which is supposed to open for handicapped people?  (supposed to..)
The banging annoyed the female soldier who called the policeman who was also angry, "Who is banging?"  I raised my hand, I, and the policeman, a hero among the weak, punished the Palestinians.  "So, then no one will go through," he said, turning his back and disappearing.
His back certainly heard that this is not legal, what he did, and that he is a policeman who is disobeying the law.
Perhaps the policeman does not know the law, or perhaps he knows and makes fun of it, and perhaps he simply ignores both  the law and human beings.  Maybe because that is the way an angry policeman behaves.
Jaba checkpoint, which has for years mainly been serving dogs and canine trainers from the Oketz Unit for training practice on Palestinian vehicles has made a comeback.  Why?  Because, "There are warnings!  No, not a specific warning.  A week ago someone was killed.  The area is under alert."  The soldier explained the military rational for this, that the soldiers had returned to man these stations and to delay the traffic flowing toward highway #60.
And, on the opposite side, white and pretentious, like oozing pus, the settlement of Adam from which the murderer of Muhamad Abu Khedir set out.
 
 
 
 

  • 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)
  • 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)  
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