Qalandiya
The Ramadan month has left its marks at the checkpoint.
Damages are not that quickly repaired.
The metal barriers that created a winding track – making movement even more difficult for the disabled – are now not very promptly removed:
A grandmother, grandfather and their three granddaughters arriving at the inspection post were subjected to a cross-investigation: who is who, who is this, and also:
“Why are the girls not registered in your ID?”
“Because I am their grandfather. I brought their mother’s ID. That’s where they are registered.”
“So why didn’t their mother come?”
“Why didn’t you bring their birth certificates?”
Time and time and time again.
Until the man, who had so far kept his cool and answered as required, lost it and said: “My dear, we are Israelis!”
And this made – and always makes – the difference, for even the right “to lose it” belongs only to the privileged, not to the unprivileged.
So the woman-soldier lost it too. The “it” she lost was her self-confidence. In order to save face, she was resorted to call up a friend who explained to her about the rights of the privileged.
On the wall, a picture of Anwar Falakh Salaime
I wanted to write that Anwar, ‘eliminated’ in A-Ram by soldiers’ bullets on July 13, 2016, was the last shaheed (martyr), but then came word of the murder in A-Ram of Majdi Sidki Al Tabah, a 12-year old child, on Muly 20, 2016.
The army’s reaction to the killing of this child: “Riot ensued on the spot and Border Police combatants fired concussion and teargas grenades. The Border Police reiterates that no live fire was used.” http://www.iba.org.il/bet/?entity=1171883&type=1
The army’s explanation of Anwar’s killing is that he was shot while on his way to vehicular terrorist attack.
The Palestinians say the fellow was a resident of East Jerusalem who, two months ago, married and on the evening of his death was driving to a bakery in A-Ram.
Why did the soldiers fire six bullets at the car? –No one has an answer.
Apparently he was at the wrong place at the very wrong time.
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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