Qalandiya - the Palestinians talk about distress, pain, and deprivation
“Speech is a known medicine”, wrote Primo Levy.
Because of such a phrase, I come to listen to adults and children who need it now more than ever. They spoke about distress, pain, and want such as they have never known.
In the shade of the corner watchtower I met an acquaintance, an elderly woman who sells cold water bottles for a livelihood.
As I hugged her shoulders and she hugged mine, the air was suddenly filled with the loud cry: “Have you lost your mind, you crazy woman!” The shouter was a soldier who leaned out the window at the top of the tower. “He saw that you were a Jew”, said someone who happened to go by.
I pointed my camera at his face and the hero escaped inside and disappeared into the dark army post
This was not the only thing the said soldier did that afternoon. This was the story:
When I sat as usual on the concrete slab opposite the refugee camp, two children vendors, 14-15 years old (in the photo) came to me, all agitated, and said that before I came, the soldier on top took out the barrel of his rifle from the window and pointed at them. Boom, boomb, boom. No, he didn’t hit us. Because he is a son of a bitch, said a youngster who confirmed the boys’ story.
When I walked towards the checkpoint, Bassel stopped me: Why are you still making war? Isn’t it enough?
Yes, it’s been enough for long now, I said what I thought and never told Bassel that the organization in whose name I am here has still refrained from opposing the war and the killing in the name of revenge that never has enough.
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 FleishmanNov-30-2025Qalandiya: Puddles and dirt after the rain
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