Jaba (Lil), Qalandiya, Sun 20.10.13, Afternoon
Translating: Ruth Fleishman
A Bad time for Sick Palestinian Children
It was bad for the nine year old girl who was burning up with fever, and who couldn't be stabilized by the doctors at Ramallah hospital and therefore sent to Augusta Victoria hospital, because: "they have a very good pediatric ward on the third floor", said the ambulance driver. Only after fifty five minutes from the moment the ambulance arrived at the checkpoint, did it pass through to Jerusalem – an unheard of forty minute delay at the entrance to the checkpoint, plus a fifteen minute delay for inspecting the identity of the child, her mother, and the medical crew transporting them to and from the checkpoint and for inspecting their personal belongings. 
It was also bad the baby for eleven months who suffered from CF and who due to his condition was sent by the doctors in Jenin hospital to Mukased hospital at East Jerusalem. The DCL found them to be "Kosher", or as they say at the IDF "co-ordinations had been made", meaning that the GSS approved their passage. But the checkpoint soldiers hadn't heard a thing about it and demanded that the ambulance driver, who had already entered the checkpoint with his vehicle, turn around. Then the DCL said "yes" and the soldiers said "no" once again, and only after half an hour of yes and no and phone calls, did the infant pass the checkpoint.
Even though it had all been written before and spoken of, it is still important to repeat and remind: six of the Palestinian hospitals with the best equipment and the most well trained staffs are in East Jerusalem.
For twenty seven long minutes the inspection posts at the checkpoint were deserted of soldiers. When a punishment isn't bound by a time frame, to the person being punished each minute seems to consist more than sixty seconds.
At Jaba checkpoint it was time for the last training session of the dog that was lead by a long leash by a soldier. The dog sniffed and looked around, under and inside the car, while its owner who had his car confiscated for a while, was taken out of it and forced to stand and watch from the side the dog being trained.
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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