Qalandiya, Mon 7.1.08, Afternoon

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Youngsters and students

Observers:

Yael I., Ruth O., Orit Y. and Ilana D. (reporting)

Jan-7-2008

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Afternoon

From 2:00 till 5:30 PM

Vocational Secondary School in Atarot, Atarot CP, Bitunia and Ramot Road CP

We
had made an appointment with Mr. Wasfi Tamimi, who replaces the
Principal of the Vocational High School. He had asked us for help
concerning his students who have to walk three kilometers to reach the
school since the gate next to the BP-base under the school is closed to
them. We had approached Guy Ehrlich on his behalf and he told us that a
bus should be running to serve them. However, the bus never
materialized. We informed Mr. Tamimi that he should write a letter to
Nissim Edri, the Commander of the Jerusalem Envelope to explain his
plight with a copy to Guy Ehrlich and the Director of the Industrial
Zone who were supposed to operate the bus line. Mr. Wasfi Tamimi told
us that there is only an Egged bus which enters at 7:00 AM and is of no
use to his students, since it serves only passengers from West
Jerusalem. He will invite Guy Ehrlich to visit his school. He also told
us of his plans to try and enroll students from villages in Northern
Israel since he has boarding facilities. He also wants to get
recognition from the Israeli Ministry of Education for matriculation,
but some of his veteran teachers do not meet the academic requirements.
Ruth hoped she might be of assistance in the Ministry and suggested he
contact ORT
- he seemed to think poorly of the ORT school in Sheikh
Jarrah. He told us that he has extremely sophisticated equipment, which
is not used, since he has students in only four classrooms and space
for ten. He would like to take younger children and start in tenth
grade to rejuvenate and invigorate his school.

We
wanted to cross the Qalandia CP, but met with signs forbidding Israelis
to continue and then were also told by a soldier in an army jeep that
we could not continue – the situation has worsened apparently and we
were unable to reach the Leel CP.

At
the exist of the Industrial park we noted a long line of cars at the
impromptu CP of which we had reported last time, but we could not stop
the car and when we returned later there was no more queue.

We
went to Bitunia and saw two large semi-trailers waiting in line to be
called for their back-to-back transfer of their goods. The girl soldier
at the entrance told us that we were not allowed to be there since the
area is a closed military zone. She said it is very dangerous and there
could be shooting, she said: "You never know from where it originates"
From the Ofer Encampment? The entrance to the Ofer prison has been
beautified; a bus with prisoners was just about to enter.

In
the freezing cold at the Ramot Road CP there were no waiting cars. The
soldier probably too was too cold to bother stopping and checking the
very few approaching vehicles. We wondered whether the visit of
President Bush has already influenced the traffic flow from Ramallah.

On
our way North we had taken the route via the Nusseibeh neighborhood of
Bet Haninah on the way back we drove on the Western side of the wall
and found the gate near the Aram CP wide open.

Location Description

Qalandiya Checkpoint

See all reports for this place

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)

Apr-5-2024

Tamar Fleishman

Qalandiya: The men who were refused passage, return

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