I passed through the Qalandia checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem several times on this visit, including the day I walked from one city to the next. In general, passage is easier than two and four years ago. Four years ago, the old checkpoint routinely caused endless waits in both directions. The modernized checkpoint that replaced it is more technologically advanced, designed to funnel thousands of Palestinians a day through cattle-like chutes with minimal risk to Israeli soldiers issuing disembodied commands, at the expense of an alienating daily slog for Palestinian workers, shoppers, and students.
But now there is less attention paid to those moving northward, away from Jerusalem, so the wait is only one-way. And although the checkpoint can be jammed during commuting and school hours, a few hours later it can be empty. On Fridays, the Muslim day of rest, even deserted.
I rarely try to photograph checkpoints this closely. As during previous visits, soldiers vary in their tolerance for picture taking, and I didn’t want to risk having my camera confiscated. But last Friday (just a week ago, but it seems much longer) I was at Qalandia to meet two people crossing from Israel (more about that in my next posting). With time to kill, I overcame my paranoia and snapped a few shots of the checkpoint waiting area and also the parking lot outside, hoping the soldiers in the tower and at the car checkpoint wouldn’t notice.
This one is from outside the checkpoint lot. Its compressed depth of field is somewhat deceptive; the tower and parts of Separation Wall are on the other side of the parking lot.
This is from inside the lot:
Cars coming from Jerusalem see a sign in Hebrew marking the way to Ramallah, next to another sign saying “No Entrance to Israelis.”
This sign, outside the checkpoint, is another reminder. Officially, these barriers to Israeli passage are designed to protect Israelis. But it seems to me preventing law-abiding Israelis from visiting the West Bank is consistent with other efforts to keep them from seeing for themselves the effect of their government’s policies.
Back inside the parking lot, this piece of wall is covered with graffiti. In the distance, beyond the Peace plea, is Kochav Yaakov, a Jewish settlement on a Palestinian hillside.
When I left Ramallah after my three-week stay, I took a taxi with all my luggage to the checkpoint, thinking it would be easy enough to pass through the chutes during an uncrowded time of day. I was surprised I didn’t have to do that. The taxi driver pointed me to one of many waiting Palestinian buses. I put my luggage in the back luggage area and climbed on board. It turns out the soldiers no longer insist on inspecting everything; instead, a soldier came on board, looked at everybody’s ID, and then waved us through.
Technorati Tags: checkpoint, Kochav Yaakov, Palestine, Ramallah, Separation Wall