Hizma, Qalandiya
As the Jerusalem ambulance carrying a patient with a Palesitnian (green) ID is not allowed to cross Qalandiya Checkpoint and must transfer the patient by “back-to-back” procedure, a woman suffering from leukemia, connected to an oxygen supply after treatment at the Augusta Victoria (East Jerusalem) Hospital was delayed for over an hour. Only after the West Bank ambulance managed to extricate itself from the traffic jam created by an accident next to Smiramis, did the said procedure take place. “Not that we lack oxygen or anything, but isn’t a shame for this woman?” asked the Red Crescent man.
The Palestinians’ car park, sequestered during Ramadan month to create a sterile
area forbidden any unauthorized persons, has not yet been returned to its owners.
The compound stands deserted, closed to vehicular entry.
The result is a parking and traffic chaos.
Things I heard from taxi drivers:
- They (the Occupation authorities) only care about Jews, not Arabs.
- Talk to them. We’re suffocating here.
- We were told they were working here, but look – they’re not doing a thing.
At first they said it would take a year and a half. Then two years. How long is it really going to last?
Neither the frightening sign installed at the entrance to Hizma village, nor the large force of armed troops checking IDs and asking questions and rummaging through the car-trunks of people entering and exiting the village could beat the power of market.
In spite of a large group of West Bank Border Policemen who blocked the entrance, yeshiva students in black garb and dangling tzitziyot (prayer-shawl tassels) filled Mohammad’s shop and exited loaded with hardware.
Things I heard from taxi drivers:
- They (the Occupation authorities) only care about Jews, not Arabs.
- Talk to them. We’re suffocating here.
- We were told they were working here, but look – they’re not doing a thing.
At first they said it would take a year and a half. Then two years. How long is it really going to last?
Neither the frightening sign installed at the entrance to Hizma village, nor the large force of armed troops checking IDs and asking questions and rummaging through the car-trunks of people entering and exiting the village could beat the power of market.
In spite of a large group of West Bank Border Policemen who blocked the entrance, yeshiva students in black garb and dangling tzitziyot (prayer-shawl tassels) filled Mohammad’s shop and exited loaded with hardware.
