Checkpoints in Jerusalem

One of our main, weekly tasks as EAs is to monitor the checkpoints that connect the West Bank to Jerusalem. These checkpoints pose a major challenge for many Palestinians in and around the Jerusalem area trying to gain access to the city. This is a potential problem for all Palestinians and especially for those without blue Israeli identity cards (a blue ID means the holder has a residency in Jerusalem while a green means that he or she is from the West Bank). Palestinians with green ID cards can travel into Jerusalem only if they have a valid permit (e.g. work or medical). However, even a valid permit will not ensure passage when there are closures for security and other reasons. For instance, from May 6 to 17 there was a closure imposed on the West Bank during which Israel’s Independence Day, Al Nakba Day, and President Bush’s visit to Israel all transpired. So Palestinians with valid working permits were out of work for a period of 12 days during the closures.

When there are no closures, we try to go at least 4 times a week to two separate checkpoints: Zeitun (pictured above), a pedestrian only terminal down the hill behind the Mount of Olives where we live, and Qalandiyah, the main checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah.

Zeitun opened at the beginning of 2006, and is a main crossing point for many children who go to school in Jerusalem. We have been going there early in the morning from about 6:30 when the children begin showing up for school and the men and women head to work. The traffic there is quite small (about 200 people any given morning). Qalandiyah, on the other hand, connects two major population centers, so it experiences a much higher volume of people and is therefore much bigger than Zeitun and accommodates motorists as well. At Qalandiyah, there are two, initial lanes for cars (pictured below) that lead to a four or five lane toll booth looking structure where guards check cars and passenger’s IDs (only blue ID holders can pass by car or bus while all green ID holders must go through the pedestrian terminal).

However, the basic layout of the pedestrian terminals at both sites are similar. They both have an initial gate with several steel turnstiles and high, wrought iron fences topped with razor wire. Just inside the first gate is a guard box with bulletproof glass where, usually, a female guard communicates with the Palestinians through a loud speaker. Then there are five or six additional gates with turnstiles that lead you into the metal detector section with machines much like you would see at airports to check baggage, and where more guards sitting behind protective glass check IDs (more recently, many of these gates have been equipped with fingerprinting identification systems as well). After passing inspection through the metal detectors there is a final corridor leading to the last turnstile before reaching the other side. In all, you pass by two guard booths and through four steel turnstiles, waiting in two separate lines, before you reach your destination.

Up to this point I have been referring to the checkpoints as terminals, but they are anything but. When I think of terminals I am reminded of the minor annoyance of passing through airport security before boarding a flight. Qalandiyah and Zeitun, on the other hand, look like special military zones, complete with concrete walls, razor wire, and guard towers. The area is patrolled by military vehicles and armed personnel, and a constant barrage of commands seem always to emanate from the loud speakers which can be heard at quite a distance from the source.

For many thousands of people, the checkpoints are part of their morning routine. And after only a month of checkpoint watch, I cannot fathom how anyone could internalize an experience like this making it routine, or normal in any way.