'Anata-Shu'afat, Qalandiya

Place:

Qalandiya

'Anata-Shu'afat

Tags:

Health Problems

Ambulance

Observers:

Rony Hammermann, Tamar Fleishman Translator: Charles K.

Sep-7-2014

Afternoon

Qalandiya:

Everyone’s talking about the parking lot that’s been closed for more than two months, disrupting the daily routine that’s disrupted enough even without this new impediment.

They talk about their lost income, wasted time, the unbearable traffic jams, having to leave their cars by the roadside or in the refugee camp’s narrow lanes, and ask: “When will they move the boulders?” Or: “Why don’t they open it?” And some worry, “Maybe it’s permanent?”

Worst of all are the stories of the man who transports cancer patients to and from the West Bank to chemotherapy and radiation treatment at Augusta Victoria Hospital. He describes the suffering of patients who must get out of the vehicle and walk a long distance because he’s not allowed to drive to the checkpoint entrance. They walk in the blazing sun (doctors forbid people receiving radiation treatments to be exposed to the sun), each step increasing their pain and weakening them even more. But, he says, it’s hardest when they return from treatment, their strength drained, stumbling to the vehicle which is forced to wait far away.

“Why do they do that?”, he asks, “How much longer have they to live? Why aren’t they allowed to live what’s left?”

“They’re just intensifying the hatred, continually intensifying the hatred,” said an old acquaintance whose analysis was right on target.

Nor will youths hate less after being caught by Border Police soldiers because they jumped over the separation wall trying to reach jobs in Jerusalem, were brought to the checkpoint and then sent back, humiliated. Nor will the peddler sitting from morning till evening, glad there are new bathroom with shiny new doors, who suggested to an officer emerging from the compound that he hold the keys to the doors and will be responsible for them, to whom the officer rudely replied, “You’re responsible only for your children.”

Actually, it’s hard to know just what’s behind the blue doors. Because, even if toilets were installed and connected to flush tanks, and toilet paper and other fixtures provided, we’ve learned from experience that they won’t be accessible to the Palestinians who need them.

Potemkin villages at the Qalandiya checkpoint.

Shu’afat

I stopped because of the Border Police soldiers standing next to and opposite the home of the Abu-Khader family in Shu’afat.

Hussein Abu-Khader showed me the memorial erected by the family in memory of their son, Muhammad, who was kidnapped and burned, saying the police came ordering him to dismantle it or they’d demolish it.

Hussein replied that if they demolish it he and his family will come in the middle of the night and build an even larger one in the middle of the road, on the light-rail tracks.

The police left and haven’t yet returned. Which says nothing about their future intentions.

And I think that if they return to demolish it – I want to stand with the Abu-Khader family.

I asked Hussein why there were so many Border Police soldiers around. “Because they killed another one of our children, the boy from Wadi Joz, they’re afraid we’ll make trouble,” he said.

The account of the police’s demand was circulated because of a status Hagai Mattar and I posted, asking for a response from the police, to which it replied that “currently” there are no plans to demolish the monument. The response changed over time. The latest appears in http://bit.ly/1nFkoAc , in Hebrew.

And there is also in English:

http://972mag.com/police-threaten-to-destroy-memorial-for-slain-palestinian-teen-muhammed-abu-khdeir/96447/

ויש גם באנגלית:

http://972mag.com/police-threaten-to-destroy-memorial-for-slain-palestinian-teen-muhammed-abu-khdeir/96447/

- See more at: http://www.machsomwatch.org/reports/checkpoints/07/09/2014/afternoon/266...

ויש גם באנגלית:

http://972mag.com/police-threaten-to-destroy-memorial-for-slain-palestinian-teen-muhammed-abu-khdeir/96447/

- See more at: http://www.machsomwatch.org/reports/checkpoints/07/09/2014/afternoon/266...

Location Description

Shu'afat-Anata

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The Shu’afat checkpoint is located in the northern part of East Jerusalem at the exit from the village of Anata and the Shu’afat refugee camp, which are located in the area annexed to Jerusalem in 1967. The refugee camp borders the Shu’afat neighborhood to the west, Pisgat Ze’ev to the north, the French Hill neighborhood to the south and the planned expansion of Ma’aleh Adumim to E-1 in the east. It was established in 1966 for 1948 refugees from the West Bank and was populated after the Six Day War by persons who had been expelled from the Jewish Quarter. Today its population comprises some 25,000 people holding blue ID cards and some 15,000 people with Palestinian ID cards. The camp lacks adequate infrastructure and services, and suffers from poverty, neglect and overcrowding. All its buildings are connected to the public electricity and water infrastructure, but not all are connected to the sewer system. The camp’s services are provided by UNRWA, except for those such as health clinics and transportation of pupils to schools in Jerusalem. In 2005, the Israeli High Court of Justice rejected a suit by the residents requesting that the route of the separation fence be drawn such that the camp would remain on the Israeli side, but conditioned its approval of the route on the establishment of a convenient and rapid crossing facility for the inhabitants of the neighborhood, most of whom are residents of Jerusalem.

A temporary checkpoint operated there until December, 2011. It was extremely congested during rush hours, and dangerous for pedestrians (especially children) because of inadequate safety provisions. The new checkpoint was inaugurated south of the old one, for public and private transportation and for pedestrians, intended solely for the residents of the camp – holders of blue ID cards, and those with Palestinian ID cards who possess appropriate permits. There are five vehicle inspection stations at the checkpoint, and two for pedestrians (one of which is currently closed) where scanners have been installed but are not yet operating. According to the army, representatives of government agencies will also be present to provide services to residents of the neighbourhood. The pedestrian lanes are very long, located far from the small parking lots, and accessible through only a single revolving gate.

Dec-20-2023

Anat Tueg

Anata: new traffic circle at the exit junction

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Qalandiya Checkpoint

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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)

Apr-5-2024

Tamar Fleishman

Qalandiya: Four women from Nablus are refused crossing the checkpoint to pray

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