Jaba (Lil), Qalandiya, Sun 9.1.11, Afternoon
Salami slicing is the method by which the occupation is run: in stages, not all at once, so that they get used to it, internalize it, so that they won't rebel… it proves itself to be efficient and sophisticated.
Less vehicles arrive at the exist gates of Qalandiya checkpoint and as result, less people arrive. Only those who have no choice or as the cassette salesman said: "it's all because the blocks…". He told us of a rumor that came for someone who works at the municipality of Jerusalem, according to it the current state is temporal, since they mean build the wall so that it blocks the road.
Qalandiya checkpoint:
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An ambulance on its way to a child that had collapsed and lost her consciousness while she was passing the checkpoint escorted by her parents- was detained. It was sent to the public parking lot where the driver had to maneuver between hundreds of vehicles. Two men from the medical crew got out with a stretcher and started running around, looking for cracks through which they could enter the checkpoint. "The child has a brain tumor, she is heading to Mukased", they said. But the patient probably didn’t' make it to Mukased. After the medical crew recuperated her and put her in the ambulance, the soldiers wouldn't allow the vehicle to proceed to the other side of the checkpoint and the driver had to head back with the child.
– All that time the front post was unmanned, the turnstile leading inside was locked and the line of people grew longer. Standing outside we could see that the checkpoint was overcrowded and there was no movement: "it's been like this for an hour now", we were told.
– Because of the good visibility after the rain, we noticed a long and sparkling industrial building on the hillside, by the settlement Kuchav Ya'akov which is invading the refugee camp Qalandiya.
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All around the checkpoint bonfires from twigs were light. The peddlers light them and every couple of minutes they went over and warmed their freezing hands.
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Vivi's sharp eye spotted an old sign in Arabic on the road leading to the checkpoint lanes. It hung by a wooden letter box and said: "A letter box for the suggestions and requests of the residents (or citizens)".
Jaba checkpoint:
"The Palestinians get screwed twice"- the checkpoint commander agreed with this claim and told us about the disturbance that the construction work on the road to Ar-Ram cause. Now the traffic is one way- to Ramalla (west) alone. Anyone (us for instance) heading there have to enter the village Ar-Ram and use rocky roads and dirt paths. But that doesn't applyto military vehicles, when leaving Rama base, which faces the entrance to Ar-Ram and serves the soldiers as residence, they alert their colleagues at the checkpoint who then stop the Palestinian traffic for several minutes- until the military vehicles arrives at its destination.
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 FleishmanApr-26-2026Qalandiya. Things you see on the way
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