Qalandiya: “No permits = no livelihood”
Who were there?
Two ambulances, two stretchers, four IDs that passed from one hand to another and photographed, two helpless medical teams, many bags inspected, two accompaniers, a security guard (hostile), a woman soldier (nice), and one camera, too.
This whole bit crowded on the area lying on the eastern side of the vehicle checkpoint in order to supervise the passing from one stretcher to another and from one ambulance to another of two women, one from the West Bank on her way to hospital in Jerusalem, and the other from hospital in Jerusalem back home to the West Bank.
The security guard roughly demanded that I distance myself, whereas the soldier wanted to understand why it was important for me to be present. I told her about the time I needed to be taken to hospital in an ambulance, that the procedure was quick, without the presence of armed persons, guns and shakings between ambulances and stretchers. The soldier listened empathically. Our discourse was broken up when the security guard came close and growled: “You have been here enough time to know that these are our instructions, we work only according to the instructions, it’s only the instructions that count…”
What happened that moment when his words crossed the air is that the rage, held back in me for so many years broke out of me, no holds barred: “Procedures, you say? Instructions? Sure. That’s what the guy in Poland would say back then when he shot my grandfather.”
After a few seconds of silence, the security guard turned his head to me and said:
“You’re crazy”.
Away from there, at a place where reality leaves acquaintances looking for livelihood helpless and depressed, quite a few asked me whether the war was already over, and when I said no, they asked, when will it be finally over? The government should be asked that, not me.
They said that in past weeks rumor had it that beginning January 1st, permits will be issued again. Quite a few reached the DCO offices and encountered bitter reality again. “No permits = no livelihood”, said a cab driver. “Since morning until now (it was 4:30 p.m.) I have made only 20 shekels. Can one live on that?”
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 FleishmanApr-16-2025Qalandiya: summer fruit
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