Jaba (Lil), Qalandiya, Mon 14.10.13, Afternoon
3:30 PM – Today was the eve of the Id al-Adha holiday and the CP was pretty empty. We were told that “everyone” was busy shopping in the market, preparing for the event. On our arrival at Qalandiya, we saw an ambulance waiting in the bus parking lot while his Palestinian counterpart was being examined in the vehicle checkpoint. Natanya went to see what was happening and was told that the two ambulances had been waiting for the transfer for an hour. Just as Natanya arrived the Palestinian ambulance was allowed through with its passengers, a young man of 17 on the stretcher accompanied by a woman of about 40 on their way to Gaza. The (female) soldier overseeing the transfer was very nice and helped the older woman move her packages from one vehicle to the other.
The CP looked abandoned with only a few laborers sitting in the northern shed, waiting for transportation to their villages. Suddenly an old friend came by, Mohammed who used to sell us chewing gum as a young child has now grown up and works as a cleaning man in Atarot Industrial Park. Luckily, we had a big bag of clothing in the car and we invited Mohammed to pick the things he thought his family could use, wishing him a happy holiday.
We were also “treated” to a harangue by a man who appeared to be disturbed. Dressed in a bright yellow turban, he ranted in Hebrew mixed with Arabic, apparently addressing us and causing us to feel uncomfortable, so we decided to beat a hasty retreat at 16:30. On our way to Jerusalem, at the Lil CP, a police car was standing in the eastward lane, blocking traffic, while the policeman checked the papers of Palestinian drivers (a holiday eve is a wonderful time for spreading warm feelings of good cheer!). Only when the line of waiting cars got extremely long and the drivers started honking their displeasure did the policeman free up the traffic by moving his unfortunate victim off the road. The line of cars behind us quickly melted away.
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 FleishmanNov-30-2025Qalandiya: Puddles and dirt after the rain
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