Qalandiya
Mohammad and his mother reached the checkpoint minutes after the assigned transport vehicle carrying patients back to Gaza had already left.
From here on they heard the routine answer repeated time and again: there’s nothing we can do about it, come back tomorrow.
So the mother and her sick 10-year old child sat on the metal benches on the Palestinian side of the checkpoint, placed their bags and packs at their feet and waited.
The mother’s face showed embarrassment, Mohammad’s face showed his illness, but not what he was on his mind.
The mother went back inside the compound, to the offices, hoping that perhaps this time her plea to take her ill son home before the day was over would be heard affirmatively.
The mother did not know that those inside determine whether one sick child would be detained or not, they also determine who lives and who doesn’t. Those inside act by the book, only by the book, and by the book a Gazan patient will not go back home other than with the supervised vehicle assigned to this purpose.
Again the mother heard the same answer: there’s nothing we can do, come back tomorrow.
Okay, tomorrow. Sure. But what happens until tomorrow?
Earlier, on the Jerusalem side of the checkpoint, I saw that transport vehicle leaving for Gaza…
Minutes before leaving, the ill children inside and I on the outside communicated by hand gestures and facial expressions through windows and reflections.
When they left I crossed the checkpoint and that’s when I met Mohammad and his mom.
After spending time with them and after trying and not getting an answer on the phone, I took leave of them heavy heartedly and proceeded to meet and talk with old and new acquaintances.
During the hour and a half I was there, two pairs of ambulances conducted the standard back-to-back transfer of patients. I get over my urge and habit to hurry up and document this, for I had no more strength left for more ill patients and more horror.
On my way home, at the entrance to the checkpoint, I saw Mohammad and his mom again, still sitting at the same spot, on the same benches.
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 FleishmanJul-21-2026Qalandiya. Conversation in the shadow of the wall
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