ACRI and partner organization Ir Amim intervened before Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitz on June 7, demanding the lifting of severe restrictions on freedom of movement for Palestinians passing through Qalandiya Checkpoint. Following the closing of Al-Ram checkpoint in the north of Jerusalem in February 2009, Qalandiya remains the only passageway into the city for Palestinian Jerusalemites cut off by the Separation Barrier, who arrive at the checkpoint daily on their way to school, work, medical treatment, etc. Qalandiya is also a central passageway for West Bank Palestinians who have attained permits to enter Israel.
Deteriorating conditions at the checkpoint, which force passersby to wait for more than an hour in each direction, include a partial closure of some of the pedestrian lanes leading to overcrowded lanes; new regulations demanding passengers exit vehicles and proceed on foot to the other side of the checkpoint; verbal assault by personnel manning the checkpoint, and more.
In an earlier court ruling on the route of the Separation Barrier in the Jerusalem area, which cuts off Palestinian neighborhoods located within the municipality boundaries, High Court judges encouraged the petitioners to appear in the future before the court once again if they witness a deterioration in conditions at the checkpoint, resulting in severe disturbances to the fabric of life of Palestinian residents of the city. “The current situation at Qalandiya Checkpoint does not enable a normal, acceptable way of life for residents of the city who are compelled to pass through it”, writes ACRI Attorney Tali Nir.
To read the full intervention in English click here
