Qalandiya - It’s procedure
It’s procedure
An ambulance from the West Bank was parked at the northern entrance to the checkpoint compound, waiting for the ambulance supposedly arriving from the opposite direction and carrying a cancer patient that had been treated at the Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem.
They’re returning him to his home in Tul Karm, said the ambulance driver. Poor guy, but there’s nothing to do. It’s all from Allah.
Why does the ambulance coming from Augusta Victoria not go directly to Tul Karm?
-It’s procedure.
Why did the ambulance driver park outside the checkpoint and not inside to shorten the wait? -It’s procedure.
The drive to Tul Karm takes half an hour, said the driver, who after waiting for half an hour was still waiting.
When the ambulance bringing the patient arrived and reached the center of the vehicle checkpoint, only then did a soldier signal to the ambulance driver from Palestine that he was allowed inside the compound.
Why was the dying patient pushed around between stretchers and ambulances in full view of soldiers and guns?
-It’s procedure.
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A resident of the Qalandiya refugee camp spoke excitedly about the incursion of Duvdevan soldiers (one of the Israeli army units ‘in charge’ of the Occupied Territories) in one of the camp’s alleys, during which they fired at children playing outside their homes.
No one was injured, he said, but there was a lot of fear. The Duvdevan guys are the worst.
-I know it’s dangerous to mess with them, when they’re around I vanish.
-How do you know they are Duvdevan?
-Soldiers in civilian clothes are Duvdevan.
-When was this?
-At night. Not last night, the one before.
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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