Qalandiya - 14-year-old boy not allowed to cross the CP for a treatment in Hadassah hospital
A 14-year-old boy struggling against a callous, brutal, cruel system insists on his own will even after being rejected and cursed, trying again – this is no incidental sight, anything but ordinary.
His name is Mohammad, Mohammad Jaber, a boy-youth arriving by himself from Shaja’iya in the Gaza Strip for treatment at Israel’s Hadassah Hospital.
I met him on the Palestinian side of Qalandiya Checkpoint. An adult who spoke with him called my attention to him and asked if I could help. Said that Mohammad returned from tests in the Ramallah hospital to which he had been sent by the Hadassah Hospital, and was not allowed to cross the checkpoint and return to Hadassah.
Perhaps it’s because they do not understand each other, said the man. You go talk to them, he said, and pointed at the vehicle inspectors. I answered that it was much shorter but way more dangerous, for before they inspect, they shoot anyone daring as a pedestrian to cross the imaginary line between here and there. I suggested I go with Mohammad to the pedestrian checkpoint, perhaps if I speak with those who prevent his passage, maybe…
We went together, slowly. Every step cost him torment, obvious from his boyish face. Around the metal detector inspection, I placed Mohammad against the wall and placed his crutches on the designated conveyor belt. We proceeded to the ID inspection booth. We were “welcomed” there by the security guard complaining, oh it’s you again… Just a second, I said. Let’s talk. Who are you anyway? the guard said/yelled. I’m with him. If you’re Israeli you are not allowed to be there, he yelled. He sequestered my ID and summoned the police. A policeman checked me and ruled that I was “okay”, in their language. At my request she turned to Mohammad, checked his documents carefully and ruled – he doesn’t pass.
I asked her to look at him and think, how a boy who can hardly walk endangers our state security to the extent that he is not allowed to reach the hospital that treats him.
Yes, I see, she said. He is a poor soul, but that’s the law. Let him come to the DCO tomorrow morning and ask for a special medical permit, said the policewoman and left.
We remained, helpless.
Then the security guard yelled at Mohammad: Go on, git!… I know that Mohammad understood not a word, but I did – and told the guard that no human being should be addressed this way. Go on, git.. you too, he yelled at me.
There was nothing left to do but achingly take my leave of Mohammad.
Leaving the Checkpoint compound, I felt a deep nausea that would stay with me for quite a while.
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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