Qalandiya: money runs out, the stomach growls and there are no work permits
Time stretches, money runs out, the stomach growls and there are no work permits.
What wouldn’t a person do to bring basics to his home, secure his family, give food to the mouths of his small children and elderly parents?
People are desparately trying to come to wherever working hands are needed, doing everything they can to overcome physical and bureaucratic hurdles, climb walls and fences, risk arrests, wounding, falling and even shootings.
Harsh was the fate of a West Bank inhabitant who climbed the apartheid Wall and had no rope to dangle from. What did he do? Jumped to the other side that held his hope.
Landing was bad, hard – and consequently both his legs were fractured.
He received first aid in East Jerusalem, where his legs were plastered. Then he was sent to continued treatment in Ramallah, diagnosis and perhaps a series of operations, for “here” in Jerusalem he was alone, and occupation law forbids his family and friends from sitting by him and helping. He himself is forbidden to stay here, while “there” – in the West Bank – his family members could sit by him and help.
Occupation laws prohibit and add pain and suffering by forbidding the entry of an ambulance from Jerusalem Red Crescent, making its way to Ramallah, to the place where the wounded man was sent. It has to unload him at Qalandiya Checkpoint and return to Jerusalem.
When the man was transferred from one ambulance stretcher to another, his body language and facial expression showed his pains, but he bit his lips and made no sound.
I told the security guard standing beside me that when I needed to get to the hospital in an ambulance, it drove directly without detentions, checks or armed men and guns. But time was of the essence and we could not talk further, putting it off to another time.
Other things were discussed at Qalandiya at the time – the war with Iran that just ended, that they – Palestinians – have no protection or safe spaces. They heard the alarm sirens from Jerusalem and the settlements but have nowhere to hide from the missiles. They stood outside and looked up at the missile and interceptor routes, and one guy who lives in Se’ir town, in the Hebron district, said a missile fell on his town and killed two girls.
I also thought about Israeli media and the selection that binds it. I remember that during one of Iranian missile attacks they reported a bombing aimed at Hebron, but when the results were summed up, only hits in Jewish localities were mentioned, Israeli citizens were killed or wounded. No mention of victims that are not “us”. These were not forgotten but remained intentionally unmentioned, as an opinion-leader said when an Iranian missile fell on Tamrah- “Many in Tamrah do not like Israel”.
For this is how everything is measured, and the two girls from Se’ir – perhaps they too are not in love with Israel…
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 FleishmanJun-25-2025Qalandia: West Bank man injured in both legs
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