Checkpoint Qalandiya and other Palestine Warning Or Danger Tips

Obviously, now is probably not the ideal time to visit the West Bank and Gaza. Unless you you're there as a peace activist, wishing to show the people solidarity. It's impossible to travel around the Palestinian territories unless you feel like spending hours at checkpoints. However, having lived there until recently, I rarely felt my life was threatened. It certainly is not Iraq where there seems to be total lack of law and order. Consider Palestine to be under a more 'organized' (?) occupation. Plus, westerners per se are not targeted.

Here is Qalandya checkpoint where I often watched Israeli soldiers shoot at little school boys while other civilians had to try to avoid the tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition. Another danger of course is if you're driving in a yellow-plated Israeli car - you might be mistaken for an Israeli settler by Palestinian gunmen...and whatever you do, make sure you stop at the checkpoint or you risk being shot at as a potential threat to Israeli security, in other words a potential terrorist.

Leave a Comment