Qalandiya
It’s a war zone, said the commander who told us to leave.
My response, It’s a civilian area, sounded stupid even to me.
Because he’s right.
Qalandiya is a war zone.
Qalandiya is also a war zone.
It’s hard to breathe at Qalandiya.
It’s hard to breathe, also at Qalandiya.
Hundreds of police stationed along the Shu’afat road.
Who and what are they guarding; against whom and against what are they guarding?
Actually, they’re not here to guard
They’re here to erase
The Mark of Cain.*
The stain remained on the wall / David Avidan
Someone tried to scrape the stain from the wall.
But the stain was too dark (or the opposite – too bright)
Anyway – the stain remained on the wall.
So I called the painter to paint the wall green.
But the stain was too bright.
So I hired a man to expertly whitewash the wall.
But the stain was too dark.
Anyway – the stain remained on the wall.
So I took a kitchen knife and tried to scratch the stain from the wall.
The knife was so sharp it hurt.
I’d sharpened it only yesterday.
And yet.
And I clenched an ax in my fist and battered the wall, but stopped in time.
I dunno why I suddenly got the idea,
That the wall mightopple but the stain would still remain.
Anyway – the stain remained on the wall.
And when they stood me against the wall, I asked to stand right next to it.
And protected it with broad chest (Who knows: perhaps)
And when they sprayed my back blood poured, but only from the back.
They’re firing.
And I believed so very strongly that the blood would cover the stain.
Anyway – the stain remained on the wall.
(from: Brazim Arufei Sfatayyim, Keter Publishing Company)
*The wall on which the picture of Muhammad abu Khdeir, the boy, had been posted was not blank by order of the authorities.
You don’t need the cloth that covered the wall or the picture to remember the boy burned alive.
His image, like his memory, are seared into the collective consciousness.
And who can predict the aftermath of the huge conflagration which was ignited that terrible night?
(The attached photo of the boy is new, pasted, like many others, on a light pole.)
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 FleishmanJun-28-2026Qalandiya. The bridge leading from Jerusalem to the Qalandiya checkpoint
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