Qalandiya
Meeting people who have managed to get through the closure and encirclement against all odds to bring food for the hungry, meeting this dedication of fathers to their children, is to understand a bit of something that is stronger than fear and rifles.
Seeing another home which the army demolished is to see the blossoms of hatred.
Not deterrence nor remorse.
Between the olive and the fig trees an upper floor, torn open, shouts hatred and revenge.
Hatred and revenge is also spoken by the road to the home.
An unpaved road, of trodden dirt and dust and garbage,
a road along which bubbling sewage flows.
And there is no chance for hope to fill 4.5 year-old Marmariya’s little heart, in Balata refugee camp, who travels every day to undergo treatment at Augusta Victoria Hospital, East Jerusalem.
Marmariya passes her days traveling and waiting, for a treatment that lasts no more than 5-6 minutes. Travel and more waiting, thus from morning to evening.
For because of the restrictions imposed by the sovereign upon the Palestinian health system in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, in all of Palestine there is not a single piece of equipment for radiation treatment of cancer patients.
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 FleishmanFeb-27-2026Qalandiya: On the way to prayer
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