Qalandiya, Wed 22.7.09, Afternoon
On the western side of the vehicle checkpoint they are continuing to pave an additional lane.
A sign that notifies that the post office is to remain open each day until 16:00 was hanging. But the post office was already closed at 15:00.
15:30- People were standing in front of the locked turnstiles, on the lane leading to the DCL and the post office.
-Another sign was hanging, and on it was a telephone number to which those who are having some sort of a problem could call. None of the Palestinians tried using it. Ivonne did. The person who answered said the turnstiles were wide open.
-Ivonne insisted: The turnstiles are locked.
– The replay she got from the other end was: "the soldiers say they are open".
– Ivonne kept insisting.
-The phone on the other end was slammed.
-Ivonne called the DCL operation room, the same person answers her.
-She kept insisting on what she was saying right in front of her.
The Palestinians, who are already experienced with these kind of situation, they leaned back on the fences and had an amused look on their faces, and gazed at the woman yelling through the phone, over and over again, the same line: "Then the soldiers are lying" – as though it was a play at the Theater of Absurd, and the whole time they knew exactly how it was going to end.
15:45- Another person arrived at the lock lane. He ignored the others, and called Abuhazera (the commander of the site) and the gates immediately opened for a split of a second and just for him.
– Ivonne was about to lose her patience. She kept explaining the person on the phone (who kept insisting on the soldiers' version), that the turnstiles were locked and that she soldiers were laying.
15:55- They called out the name of one of the Palestinians through the load speaker, and he alone got to pass.
17:25- We left the checkpoint and headed to the Palestinian side. There were about 80 people who filled the whole lane, standing inside the human cage leading to the entrance of the checkpoint. They stood silently in the line that went on to the shed on the back.
-The years of occupation forced the Palestinians to become adaptable, obedient, patient and submissive.
The Question now isn't whether this might explode right in our faces, but when?
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-27-2025Qalandiya: A beggar woman
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