Qalandiya, Sun 30.8.09, Afternoon
Six days of traffic jams. Six days of heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic in the vicinity of the checkpoint.
It is probably meaningless in the eyes of those looking through the rifle's sight, especially in comparison with how they managed to make the checkpoint seem as though there has been an improvement, using announcement like that of the Security Force's which claimed there would be relieves during the Ramadan Fridays.
They had managed it so well that we too nearly fell for it and joined the song along: "Nifla Po…" (Everything is wonderful over here).
This is nothing more but an attempt to mask an acne filled face and create a false impression.
The mask must be removed and the daily reality of the Palestinians' lives seen for what they really are, and also reveal the truth hiding behind those Ramadan Fridays.
Remains from the previous Friday had been left. Some posters were glued to the wall. the evidence of the great lie was to be found in the difference between the English and the Arabic letters:
"HUMANITARIAN LANE", read a sign that was taken off, another IDF euphemism which has absolutely nothing to do with reality.
– The passage regulations on Ramadan Friday haven't been altered and their rigidness hadn't been toned down for years.
– This sign is obviously meant for the eyes for the US government and the press.
We weren't able to document during this shift what had been so clear two days ago, during the Ramadan Friday: the polite manner in which the security forces maintained themselves, no matter what unit they belonged to, like a well rehearsed choir song they all greeted the Palestinian, and were polite enough to "ask" those under fifty years, to head back. For example a Bonder policeman gently grasped the body of a person he was leading back to the other side of the fence, saying: "you are 48, please came back in two years".
Today we witnessed a rather different tune: "Listen to me, listen: Go back! – you won't listen?- then get the hell back!"
This is the usual voice during the remaining six days, when the media isn't watching; the checkpoint and its vicinity go unnoticed and continue with their vicious mission of erasing the images of human beings.
They still have their stubbornness. But sensitivity is something that will probably wait until next Friday, when the flock of international (none of them Israelis) reporters and photographers and cover with astonishment the ways of the enlightened occupation and the moral integrity of the Jewish soldier.
And only one woman, that had made an effort to drive her car up the narrow paths that the wall bricks had left, smiled to us and asked: "Do you see all this?"
Then she bitterly added: "It is because we are stupid people", and said no more.
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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-8-2025Qalandiya: Emptiness in public space
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