Jaba (Lil), Qalandiya, Sun 29.1.12, Afternoon
Qalandiya:
A Palestinian ambulance was transferring the body of a man of 25 from Gaza that traveled to Jordan with his mother for medical treatment, so that he could be buried in his home town. The mother sat by the driver, silent and morning, only tiling her head as though engaging in a conversation without sound.
With the help of his resourcefulness and pliers a cab driver lowered the thorns of the spike chain, the size of car wheels, and then carefully drove over it in "forbidden" direction. The inventor gained the respect of those witnessing and especially was spared the waiting in the cramped traffic jams that had become wider and packed because of the last "improvements" (=punishments) preformed on local traffic.
Jaba checkpoint:
A lot to do about nothing:
While the traffic police hassled the ones driving up the road and enriched the state's treasury with a wholesale amount of tickets,
the checkpoint commander crossed the road towards us and started hassling us with a request that soon became a demand until finally turning into a threat- to leave his "military zone" or else- he will call the police. The checkpoint commander made good on his threat, the police car changed sides, the officer took the IDs, checked his computer, read out our details to god know who and opened and "opened a complaint" as he called it. But the officer didn't quite understand what we did wrong. After all he had witnessed the soldier interrupting us and not the other way around, he didn't mind us taking pictures of him and of what was going on, but as he said "once a complaint is opened" he couldn't let us go just like that, there were forms that needed to be filled. Filled with what? He looked around an observed that we didn't wear high visibility vests when we got out of the car. But the one who had crossed the inter-urban road was the checkpoint commander and not us, and this too was unacceptable. Wanting to get off his high horse, he called for a patrol vehicle that arrived only after 25 minutes later. The patrolling officer that was called for didn't understand why he was asked to come over: "right, there is nothing wrong with what you're doing here. Someone has to tell the regimental commander to update the soldiers regarding their behavior", the policemen suggested.
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 FleishmanFeb-27-2026Qalandiya: On the way to prayer
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