Comments on: Crossing Qalandia

By: Qalandia for kids | A Year On

Qalandia for kids | A Year On — Mon, 28 May 2012 18:51:30 +0000

[...] web is full of detailed descriptions of crossing Qalandia. I recommend Matthew Teller’s. On my own, I find the journey upsetting and spooky: the narrow metal chutes, just wide enough [...]

By: World first for Martin Randall? « Quite Alone

World first for Martin Randall? « Quite Alone — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 09:33:20 +0000

[...] tourists to Jerusalem have even the first inkling – the drive from Ramallah via the notorious Qalandia crossing to spend most of a day in East Jerusalem, without once setting foot over the Green [...]

By: Matthew Teller

Matthew Teller — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 12:19:39 +0000

Sorry, Katya, collective punishment is illegal. And an occupying power has substantial obligations under international law, including not taking intimidatory measures to prevent hostile acts. Individual Palestinians committed crimes. Qalandia is a crime committed by the Israeli state. Qalandia saves lives. It also threatens lives, causes deaths, contributes to fear, hatred, insecurity and injustice, and is – I would add – morally repugnant.

By: katya zukov

katya zukov — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 06:24:21 +0000

it`s`all about stopping terrors attacks, Israel stopped them with 95% with this security checks. The palestinians put themselves in this situation by blowing themselves up in Jerusalem every single day march 2002 killing hundreds of innocent israelis. The checkpoints may seem ugly, but they are life savers.

By: Poem of the week: The bus to Ramallah by Jasmine Donahaye

Poem of the week: The bus to Ramallah by Jasmine Donahaye — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 04:52:14 +0000

[...] with its setting. The reference to not seeing East Jerusalem or the bleak Israeli checkpoint of Qalandia furthers the sense of dislocation. A mere tourist would stare at the “sights” but this [...]

By: Day 51: How to go to Jerusalem « 99 Days in the West Bank

Day 51: How to go to Jerusalem « 99 Days in the West Bank — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:28:05 +0000

[...] also found this blog post. It has [...]

By: Matthew Teller

Matthew Teller — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:26:43 +0000

Thanks, 99days – for the comment and the link.

By: 99daysinthewestbank

99daysinthewestbank — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:36:12 +0000

I wrote a similar post today and have linked to your pretty one with pictures from my blog. I haven’t seen that attitude from soldiers at Qalandia but at Bethlehem it really felt like a supermarket with bored kids on the checkouts laughing and shouting to each other from lane to lane, only these kids had guns and their produce was people. Occasionally one of them didn’t scan properly so was not allowed through. Absolutely disgusting.

By: Matthew Teller

Matthew Teller — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:40:49 +0000

Thanks for dropping by, Rodney. Sorry to say I agree…

By: Rodney

Rodney — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:24:15 +0000

Back before the other wall collapsed, East German guards were generally courteous and efficient, albeit cool. My experience of Qalandia last Tuesday at 10pm was of surly and insolent 20 year old soldiers behind very thick panzer glass, whose preferred method of communication was screaming into the microphone.
The middle-aged man waiting behind me put it in a nutshell “they treat us like animals”. This has nothing to do with stopping terrorist attacks, this is all about power.

By: Matthew Teller

Matthew Teller — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:18:06 +0000

Thanks, Jeremy – yes, I think that happens a lot! Or, rather, used to: the ‘separation barrier’ has put paid to a lot of that kind of entrepreneurial approach…

By: Jeremy Head

Jeremy Head — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:43:53 +0000

Great post. My experiences in the West Bank (several years back now) were pretty similar. Interestingly for the Palestinians with me at that time this kind of grind made them try and beat the system just for the hell of it. Our Palestinian driver didn’t have the right paperwork (I think he did this intentionally) so we had to get out of our jeep and cross on foot and wait take a taxi. Half a mile down the road, he was there waiting for us, having taken a couple of dirt tracks and used his 4 wheel drive to drive up a steep bank thus avoiding the checkpoint. Made us all laugh a lot.

By: Gail Simmons

Gail Simmons — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:02:59 +0000

Great piece Matthew. I’ve had a similar experiences at Israeli checkpoints. Totally dehumanising. And I agree with your assessment that the Israelis are dehumanising themselves even more than they are the Palestinians, who have a strong and cohesive culture which will keep them going despite the injusticies. As one man in Hebron/al-Khalil told me : “There may not be a Palestinian state in my own generation, or even my children’s generation, but I’ve no doubt it will come. We are not going anywhere.”

And they also see that the separation wall that the Israelis are building is not only keeping the Palestinians out, it is keeping the Israelis in – they are in fact building a prison for themselves.

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 03:43:26 +0000

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by matthewteller: Blog: crossing Qalandia – an ordinary day’s #travel from Ramallah to Jerusalem http://bit.ly/cflHqI #palestine #israel…

By: TwittLink - Your headlines on Twitter

TwittLink - Your headlines on Twitter — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:01:52 +0000

[...] Tweets about this great post on TwittLink.com [...]

By: Matthew Teller

Matthew Teller — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:32:21 +0000

Thank you, both.

Mo-ha-med – you’re absolutely right. Factual error on my part. (Hate bloggers who hit the ‘publish’ button without re-checking what they’ve written.) I’m going to let the original text stand, but please consider it corrected.

By: Mo-ha-med

Mo-ha-med — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:44:18 +0000

I took a few photos of Qalandia myself at the time.. creepy experience. Now imagine having to go through that every day – if you live in East Jerusalem and work in Ramallah, for instance, or if your Uni is in the West Bank..

One remark though: “Through that turnstile, you effectively enter Israel proper.”
Well, not really. You enter East Jerusalem, which remains and occupied territory.
The fact that Israel considers it to be “Israel proper” (as it decided in 1981) doesn’t change the legal status of EJ.
Practically speaking however, by passing Qalandia you have access to Israel proper, since there are controls between West and East Jerusalem, which has been severed from its natural extension that is the West Bank.

By: Crossing Qalandia « Quite Alone | Israel Today

Crossing Qalandia « Quite Alone | Israel Today — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:38:56 +0000

[...] Read more: Crossing Qalandia « Quite Alone [...]

By: spunkygirlmonologues

spunkygirlmonologues — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:47:27 +0000

Sounds like an interesting crossing, I felt as though I was there with you. I’m looking forward to reading more of your blog.