Qalandiya: an orange rope of hope dangling from above the wall
No drainage, no maintenance – at the end of the recent rainy performance the roadsides are filled with puddles and filth. Their appearance truly reflects the feelings of people who are forced to live a life of want and desperation in this country.
As usual, I sat in Abu Amir’s kebab stand. Within minutes, I was surrounded by Qalandiya’s children. They wished to have their pictures taken. Some wanted separate pictures, others wished to be photographed in couples and threesomes.
The children know that in our next meeting, as years have turned this procedure into a habit, each would receive their portrait.
In the evening, at home – still immune against invasion – I look at the pictures, smiling at the innocent children who smile at me in their photos. I cannot avoid the thought that one should strictly prohibit such a landscape from surrounding any child anywhere.
Even though I only have two eyes, I watch the wall meticulously. What I discovered this time was an orange rope of hope dangling from above, like a promise of escape from the ghetto.
In Beit Hanina, the neighborhood of Shireen Abu ‘Aqle who was murdered during her journalistic work in Jenin, I think about the ties and the similarity to an execution online of the two people near where she was murdered. This event was broadcast on the media, but within a day’s time after reporters found/invented/advocated reasons for this “unpleasant incident” or “mishap” as Karmela Meshe, military reporter, said online: “Perhaps a bullet had misfired” – politicians and their media spokespersons lost interest, as if this last murder had never happened.
Location Description
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 FleishmanNov-30-2025Qalandiya: Puddles and dirt after the rain
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