Qalandiya - 3rd Friday of the Ramadan month
Qalandiya – 3rd Friday of the Ramadan month
The present heat wave has not been blocked by the Separation Wall nor distinguished between humans.
Nor were there any changes even when temperatures mounted above 40 degrees centigrade in the instructions that do distinguished between humans, between that which is permitted and that which is not, between ones who are allowed through the checkpoint and those who are refused and turned back.
Many came early to avoid the day’s heat, but the man-made restrictions of their movement were unpreventable.
That which was different this time was the multiplicity of those rejected/expelled/turned back/refused of all ages. The refusal instruction did not exclude the elderly who were over the maximal age dictated this year as part of Ramadan ‘discounts’.
Disappointed men, young and old, sat in a long line on a dirt dyke, postponing their journey home. Perhaps they were waiting for transport or hoping for the verdict to be reversed…
But it was not reversed. Humaneness too was nowhere to be found. The soldiers and policemen, too – not only their superiors – do not see it their responsibility to think or be considerate. They are there to follow orders and maintain order.
“I am serving”, a Border Policeman defined his role, as if he were facing clients, not humans.
As closing time approached, and a group of women who managed the surpass the obstacles placed by man and climate (45 degrees centigrade) reached the last barrier, they found themselves caged inside the checkpoint compound. Neither here nor there, between the woman-soldier behind the secured window on the way leading to Jerusalem, held back by either mechanical disorder or human malfunction.
A Border Policeman who happened by tried to get the attention of the woman-soldier sitting snug in her post. He shook the gate – nothing happened. He yelled – “Soldier! Soldier!” Nothing.
Then he drew a magnetic card out of his pocket, opened the gate and entered.
I: “Great, now that you’ve opened it, let them out.”
He: “No way.”
I: “Well, here’s the way.”
He: “No way, and you go to hell.”
He locked the gate behind him. I did not hurry to leave, certainly not to where I’d been sent by him.
I waited opposite the women until the one with the finger that pushes the button that opens the door that opens towards the exterior of the checkpoint favored them and pushed the right button and the caged women hurried out, to proceed to their transport towards the Al Aqsa mosque.
This time, too, VIPs patrolled the place, like their subordinates. They never really saw the human masses facing them, and these masses’ state was never a part of their considerations.
Avichai Ader’i, the Israeli army spokesperson in Arabic, was noticeably present, and never noticed – or chose not to notice – the man next to him, holding a green (Palestinian) ID who was shamefully sent away.
And one last point:
In spite of our years-long experience of Ramadan Fridays here, the countless presence of lethal firearms pointed at humans on their way to prayer is uncontainable, inconceivable, and one can simply not grow accustomed to it.
Qalandiya Checkpoint / Atarot Pass (Jerusalem)
See all reports for this place-
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-25-2025Qalandia: West Bank man injured in both legs
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