Qalandiya

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Place: 
Observers: 
Vivi Sury, Aya Kanyuk; Translator: Louise Levi
Nov-12-2014
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Afternoon

The same picture, every day, all the week day after day, all the time

Dark and heavy smoke is covering the outskirts of the checkpoint. Large groups of soldiers from the Special Patrol units or the Counter-terror units, armed to their teeth, are firing gum bullets, and throwing gas grenades and shock grenades. They are accompanied by a Jeep equipped to fire gum bullets automatically. They attack again and again even when the "rioting" seems to have stopped.  All this is happening while the strong projector on the tower is spreading its light into every little corner, and from further away another light is flickering to show the way to the "fighters".

 

The shooting does not discriminate between the men and the women of all ages, the babies and the children who are all crossing the checkpoint, their only way to move around, to go places and to return home.

A few hundred meters away from the checkpoint, smoke is rising. Some youngsters are burning everything they can get their hands on, mostly gum. This is their way of protesting and expressing their despair. Every day young people are being arrested only for other youngsters and children to appear the next day to continue the demonstration from the day before.

A group of about twenty men wearing dark uniforms is coming out from the checkpoint and moving towards the main road to Ramallah. They are accompanied by a reporter and a photographer whose task it is to give a favorable picture of the struggle for the safety of Israel. It is quite obvious that the soldiers are eager to fight.  It shows on their faces. They are giving orders to "clear the way", and their officer tells us to be careful, but when they realize that we speak Hebrew they ask us if we" have buttered the Arabs up enough today".

We see and experience all this. A group of vendors at the checkpoint makes us aware of everything that is going on and instructs us how to find shelter from the gas while offering us pieces of onion.

Shots are heard from Qalandiya. The people at the checkpoint tell us it is live fire. They are all proud of their young people and support them, although times are hard making a livelihood is becoming more difficult.

They also tell us that four days ago some soldiers kicked an old beggar. They called the miserable woman to approach them only to send her away and kick her until she fell on the ground and was injured…She has not turned up at the checkpoint since.