Qalandiya, Sun 29.1.12, Morning
05:20
The line spills over to the other side of the road. Nothing is moving, the turnstiles only open occasionally, the line keeps lengthening; as usual, only 3 sleeves are open. What new things can we write in our weekly reports? Everything remains the same. "For the sake of testimony" impels me and my companions on this shift. True, we are faithful witnesses to this humiliation of human beings, to the harassment. We give people work permits and then they are prevented from getting to work in a human, reasonable fashion; they are crowded between fences for 2 hours. At 4:30 AM they settle into place in line in order to arrive at work by 07:00. Sometimes, they don't manage to get there in time and are fired. We blame them for the fact that they sometimes jump over the fences, push their comrades, we call them "animals". "They behave like animals". But who brought them to this embarrassing state? We did. We are the ones who harass them body and soul, we are the ones who stand them up, crowded between fences for 2 hours. And what do we, MachsomWatch, do to help them by standing there? Maybe by listening to their distress? I wish that were true. But the truth is that our empathy does not bring them any income and does not compensate for the daily humiliation that they experience.
I wish that someone would finally do something to bring back our long lost self-esteem.
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 FleishmanJul-21-2026Qalandiya. Conversation in the shadow of the wall
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