Qalandiya: why are permits not issued?
On the side of the road, among piles of refuse, sat three venders for a late, poor lunch.
The image of poverty joins what many have told me about the sad reality of so many, too many.
Not one nor two claimed – at me, the only Jew among their acquaintances – that even when people say the war is over, everything stays the way it was these last two years. Why?
Why are permits not issued?
Why are we not permitted to work?
Why are we not permitted to live?
Why is there not enough food on the table?
On the daily happenings near the Separation Wall surrounding Dahiyyat al Barid, I was told that every single day shots are heard near the Separation Wall in Dahiyyat al Barid.
There, at some dawn hour, soldiers ambush guys climbing the wall to pass to its other side, the side that holds the chance to get a day’s work. They, the soldiers, fire at those who climb, and have at multiple times hit and killed or wounded them.
An acquaintance, inhabitant of Bani Naim, said that all entrances and exits of Hebron city are closed now for five hours, and no one knows why.
In the evening, when all news broadcasts showed the celebration of the return of the hostage Eitan Mor – whose father preferred to sacrifice rather than save him – when crowds of Israelis danced and sang with joy, the rotten media did not bother to show what happened at the same time to the Palestinians living nearby.
Location Description
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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