Qalandiya, Sun 4.10.09, Afternoon
"This is a most difficult passage…a person could die here… they treat human beings as though they were fools… if a sick person were to arrive- he could die because he wouldn't find anyone to turn to, if he were to talk to the soldiers- they would make a fool out of him…"
So said a person who started talking to us as soon as we reached the soldiers' post, the one overseeing the lane that is intended for vehicles entering the checkpoint, this lane had recently been reopened by the other lanes and is now surrounded by barbed wires.
It was because of the slow pace in which the vehicle line for those entering the checkpoint moved, that made it possible for the speaker to leave his car, approach us and get what was bothering him off his chest. When the line advanced: he hurried back to his car, drove up to the car before him, returned to us and continued to putting forward his bitterness:
"Someone needs to check it- I'm telling you, I also use the passage at Bethlehem and Shua'afat, and this one is the worst!… It makes your stomach ache…
-Aren't we human beings? They think we aren't human beings…"
The combined words, "human being", were repeated over and over again. It was obvious that this person, this human being, was expressing a deep feeling of hurt caused by the humiliating experience that the security forces put him through at the vehicle checkpoint. Experiences that we can never witness by ourselves. As "Jews" we will never have the "privilege" of being treated as Arabs, and from where we stand while gazing at the inspection process we can't hear the conversation between the inspectors and the drivers.
While we were standing in front of the vehicle lane, we noticed, for the fist time in months, that there was a "civilian dog" held by his leash by a civilian dog trainer. Both of them were standing by their civilian car and had a civilian guard watching over all three of them- a display of the on going privatization process taking place at the checkpoint.
New writings on the wall:
There were two new graffitists. The first one was the inscription of the name: Shadia Mansour. We searched the net and came up with a video clip directed by an artist who answers to that name.
You can see it on You Tube- but we warred!! – it contains some difficult substance.
We couldn't make out what the meaning of the second graffiti. We will be more then happy to hear any suggestions.
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 FleishmanFeb-27-2026Qalandiya: On the way to prayer
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