Qalandiya – a woman soldier sang “I am Ben Gvir”
The day after, as the old cliché goes – “the people have spoken” – I escaped reality and it chased me…
- So what do you say about Ben Gvir?
- Bibi is back…
- Ben Gvir is the worst…
- God help us…
And so on and so forth.
I wanted to sit down and sink in forgetfulness in a chair right next to the wall, but apparently the chair was in no better condition than me so our joining was not such a great idea.
So I got busy with the children around me, whose world includes neither Bibi nor Ben Gvir, children who chase a few shekels to add to the miserable total that would add a miserable sum to the family’s livelihood.
Little children, like adults, wish to have their photos taken and get their own portraits.
On the other side, the Jerusalem side of the vehicle checkpoint where one is not allowed to stand still, I looked from afar at the bus inspection going on. A woman-soldier noticed me and began to wave and shout, “Lady, go away, go away”. She wouldn’t stop waving and shouting “Lady, go away!” over and over again.
What did I do? Nothing. I faced her, standing and not responding.
As she gave up trying to shoo me away, she continued to inspect buses with her rifle hanging over her shoulder, and began to jump and clap her hands, loudly singing “The people of Israel lives…” right in front of the Palestinians in their cars. She continued with a loud scream that chopped the air: ‘This is all ours, everything. I am Ben Gvir, I am Ben Gvir”.
There was nothing left for me to do but to leave, in great pain and shame.
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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