Qalandiya, Tue 25.12.12, Afternoon
Translating: Ruth Fleishman
"The situation is hard, people don't have any food", new and old friends say.
The youngsters talk about an Intifada as an option, the elders talk about an Intifada as a non-option.
The difference is in the location of the person on the timeline of his life.
M was among the speakers. A year ago he had filed a request for a job permit in Israel, he was optimistic, so was his lawyer. The optimism was drivied from the fact that M fitted all the criterions of the directors of the occupation.
Lately M's request had been turned down and for the first time in his not so very short life he is "prevented passage by the GSS". 
The lawyer suggested an appeal to the court, the expenses of this would be of 1,720 NIS. "I don't have that kind of money", said M and told us that he had been summoned to the GSS offices where he was interrogated regarding an incident in which shots were fired at Qalandiya checkpoint.
M confirmed that he knew of the incident and added that he didn't have any additional information. 
The captain asked who he thought was responsible for the act, and M suggested that it might have been Mista'arvim (under cover soldiers).
-"So you don't want to help us", the captain ended the meeting.
"Even when i die, i will die with my dignity", M says.
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-26-2026Qalandiya. Things you see on the way
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