Qalandiya - Third Friday of Ramadan
Just as the day’s report was being written, the news came of the attack near the Old City of Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Police District spokesman promised changes in issuing entry permits to Palestinians from the West Bank during the last Ramadan week.
A golden rule states that changes are always in the Palestinians’ disfavor.
Following the news, General Yoav Poli Mordechai, Coordinator of the Government Activities in the Territories, released an announcement in Arabic, that opens as follows:
“He whose nature it is to act ungratefully towards people and does not thank betrays God’s grace”, and ends with threats of punitive measures.
This is a wicked deception – defining man’s basic right to freedom as the grace-gift of his ruler.
The Palestinians had to go through selection rings before emerging on the other – Jerusalem – side of the checkpoint.
Women were passed through four inspection rings. Their bags, personal effects and especially children/sons were inspected.
Unlike them, the men nearly choked through the opening assigned to them. Endless selection rings were placed in front of the checkpoint, at its entrance and during passage.
Dozens of meters prior to entry into the opening that is a literal bottle-neck, Border Policemen walked around and pulled out of the crowd young men, pushing then back violently and under threats. The hunting of young men, too young for the entry criteria, went on as well in the clump of people crowding before the entrance.
Most of the selection action took place up the hill in front of which hundreds, perhaps thousands of men stood in a crush, waiting.
The order was given, the bottle-neck released, and people rushed forward. Each pushed the other and was pushed along with him. Children looking terrified were crushed among the stampeding feet, a baby fainted in his father’s arms… The opening was closed again, people had to stop and wait once more, and this was repeated time and again.
Above everything and everyone, like a fart that doesn’t blow away, hovered a holiday greeting (Ramadan kareem!) printed gold on black and distributed among those who managed to cross the selection line. A holiday greeting signed by the very same general, Yoav Poli Mordechai.
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 FleishmanApr-12-2026Qalandiya. Abdallah at his fruit stand
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