Qalandiya - Passover closure. Silence, void.
Passover closure.
Silence, void.
An inhabitant of the refugee camp said: Bad. It’s all bad. No work. No food in the homes.
In spite of the delightful appearance of summer fruit, one cannot help but feel a heavy stress in one’s throat.
On my way there, I was stopped for a friendly chat by one of the vehicle checkpoint security guards who said he’d wait and meet me, for after Ramadan Friday when we stood at the checking post and spoke, he thought a lot about what I had said. “I don’t agree with all your views but I thought about many of the things you said and it affected me”.
The guy continued to speak about the injustice done to his Ethiopian sector, neglecting the girl Haimanut Kassau, about the fact that they have no voice and their words do not resonate anywhere. I agreed with him and wondered why he can’t see that the way the establishment treats Ethiopians parallels the establishment’s treatment of Palestinians. In touching sincerity this guy did not negate my words and added that he would welcome talks in the future.
As he spoke, the guy responsible for their shift came in and pointed to the phone screen, kissed it warmly and said that a video had just been released about his neighbor, Rom Braslavsky, showing that Rom is alive. My two interlocutors did not negate my words about the fact that this endless assault might also cause the hostages’ death.
As for reality of the closure, I can only quote Albert Memmi again:
The country runs at the pace of the occupier’s traditional holidays, even the religious ones, and not those of the resident’s: the weekly day of rest is that of the mother country, the flag is the one waving over memorials, his language is the one that enables social communication. Even his garb, his accent, his habits, will end up dictated to imitate the occupier. The occupier has a part in a superior world and cannot automatically pick its fruit.
Portrait of the Occupier (translated from Hebrew)
Location Description
Qalandiya Checkpoint / Atarot Pass (Jerusalem)
See all reports for this place-
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 FleishmanMay-13-2025Qalandiya: Back-to-back procedure for transferring patients
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