Qalandiya - aaaaHe wants to do the right thing with the law
He wants to do the right thing with the law
He has come here to meet the Shabaq official, the fellow everyone calls ‘captain’ but no one knows his real name.
He came because a policeman told him that the captain at Qalandiya could solve his problem.
He was told to come before 4 p.m.. So he did.
I want to do the right thing with the law, he repeats again and again. Do the right thing.
But what does the law want? Does the captain have the solution?
His problem is that for six years he has been blacklisted, and this will expire in 2099. Another 80 years…
Blacklisted is a person whose life is on hold and will do anything within his power to be freed of this status.
He is blacklisted because back then, in 2013, he was caught jumping over the fence.
Jumping over the fence is good for one’s livelihood. Getting caught doing it is bad, very bad.
On the designated day he did not meet the captain, although he came on time and waited patiently. Palestinians always wait patiently. Before his time came to enter the DCO gates, as the clock showed 4 p.m., people waiting were informed that the offices are closed and whoever is left outside should come tomorrow.
He will. And perhaps again the next day, and the next.
He wants to do the right thing with the law…
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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