Qalandiya - a kind of a study tour
This was a kind of study trip for someone who wished to see, hear, touch and get to know what there is over there, beyond the comfortable life – someone who, except for a respect visit with Ahed Tamimi, had never been in Occupied Territories.
Things were moving slowly, for he asked and listened and talked with adults and children, photographed and was photographed and even posted live videos from the ground.
Finally, we ended up with Abadallah Tamimi.
By the rubble of the ruined fruit stand, Avshalom posted a video in which he and Abdallah speak (in English) about the situation in Qalandiya in particular, and Palestine in general.
When we crossed the checkpoint, our IDs were taken, we were detained beside the soldiers’ post, and released, but not before the woman-officer who introduced herself as the local commander forced Avshalom to erase photos he had taken.
We were detained for a long time.
Why?
-We are here for you, for your security, and over there, where you just came from (Qalandiya), it’s very dangerous. They shoot a lot at whoever is Jewish, a security guard explained.
The question that was not asked and remained unanswered – was why in fact detain us when we’re on our way home??
Here’s a segment of what Avshalom wrote:
Once a week, Tamar Fleishman publishes a “Sabbath smile” of a Palestinian child. Even at times when I felt like caressing a cheek or muss up someone’s hair, I wasn’t under the illusion that the smile does not grow in a swamp reeking with hatred and revenge. Today I went with her to the place where she photographs those smiles. I didn’t smile a lot in the small area that resembles what doctors call a compound fracture, one comminuted mess of muscle, bone and skin fixed as a warped, bleeding organ. Here is an impoverished refugee camp, and the Atarot airfield…
And over all, maddening noise and crowding and heat, seething asphalt and stench and sewage, all speaking despair and helpless rage.
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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