Qalandiya - fourth Friday of Ramadan
On the fourth Ramadan Friday, the atmosphere was more relaxed than it had been last week.
The place was less tense, hectic, soldiers and police yelled less, and projected to the Palestinians who were less tense and anxious.
But one must not get used to the fact that despair becomes more bearable, the daily reality ruling the entire West Bank for so many years.
The same restrictions are in place, the same regimentation, the same draconian instructions, the same sights of men, women and children being turned back, the same corrals, the same fences, the same weapons turned against people’s bodies as though they were things and not human beings.
In the pre-arranged order, thousands are led in lines set by the ruler, on the side designated by the ruler, in narrow lanes until they face a concrete post with an armored glass pane behind which a person checks with their computer how eligible the person facing him is to come (or not) to pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque.
Not freedom of worship, nor basic human rights determine this – only the computer. It alone determines who will go up the mountain and who will be blocked. Checked.
Every year, at Ramadan, I try to understand the reason for the habitual gender separation, why different and separate paths are set for women and men, what – in the eyes of the policy makers – is different in the passage of people every day of the year in the army checkpoints where men and women are crowded together, unseparated, different from Ramadan Fridays?
The language laundry claiming protection from sexual harassment does not hold water – it is full of holes, for verbal and physical and even rape actions on the part of soldiers against Palestinian women have been exposed. Even these days, when they supposedly protect women, soldiers and police serve together with women soldiers and policewomen as they see Palestinians – both women and men. Obviously, the only purpose serving the ruler is over-regimentation of more than hundreds of thousands.
Nor do I fathom the matter of the huge area around the checkpoint structure, which normally a Palestinian foot may not tread, and is meant for the rulers only. Army lingo calls it “sterile ground”. In fact, according to this name, the area is free of infection…
Does this mean that we, “normal” people, are dirt, infectious?
The same answer holds here as well: over-regimentation and denial of basic rights.
I had a moment of satisfaction when a delegation of three – two women-soldiers and a male soldier – exited the “sterile ground” and marched towards me to where I stood facing the women’s line and behind the first-aid volunteers. “You are not allowed to photograph us” they claimed assertively. I explained that the law allows any uniform-wearer to be photographed since they are public servants. Then the claim became a request. I answered that I would consider it, but do not promise to comply. They asked why am I standing with Palestinians, anyway? “It’s dangerous, if you run into trouble only the army can help”. Let’s ask our friends here behind me, I said, and turning around, continued: “Jihan (the closest to me), they’re asking who would help me if I run into trouble”. Like a well-practiced chorus, at least ten mouths answered: “We will! We’ll help you!”
The thing that dimmed the otherwise lighter atmosphere there, were the faces and extinguished look of the sisters sitting in the shade of the wall. They and their father were ruled out by the selection, and were not permitted to continue to their longed-for destination.
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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