Muhammad al-Ju'beh, 39, a father of five from the Kafr ‘Aqab neighborhood in northern Jerusalem, described how restrictions on Palestinian movement between Kafr ‘Aqab and Jerusalem disrupt his life
I am originally from the Old City of Jerusalem, but 17 years ago I moved to live in the Kafr ‘Aqab neighborhood. I decided to move because of the housing shortage and overcrowding in the Old City and because prices in Kafr ‘Aqab, which is located beyond the fence [the Separation Barrier], are relatively low compared to other neighborhoods in East Jerusalem that are inside the fence. In addition, for Jerusalem residents who want to retain their residency status, living within the Jerusalem Municipality’s jurisdiction is a must. Because Kafr ‘Aqab is included in the municipality’s jurisdiction, it’s one of the few, and sometimes only, options available to low-income families.
In order to make it to work on Jaffa Street by 7:00 A.M., I had to wait in the line of cars at Qalandia Checkpoint at 4:00 A.M., or at Jaba’ Checkpoint at 5:00 A.M. But even if I reached Jaba’ Checkpoint at that hour, sometimes there were surprises, and it didn’t open on time, and then I’d be late for work. I was fired from my job on Jaffa Street because I kept arriving late.
But as the popular saying goes, “Nothing good is perfect.” The military checkpoints around Jerusalem, and between Kafr ‘Aqab and Jerusalem, are an obstacle for Palestinian residents who want to reach Jerusalem, especially Qalandia Checkpoint, Jaba’ Checkpoint, and, for those who want to travel via Ramallah, also Beit El (DCO) Checkpoint.
At Qalandia Checkpoint, there’s always a long line of cars. It takes between 30 minutes and an hour to reach the inspection point and exit the checkpoint toward an electric gate controlled by a soldier. The soldier waits until five cars have completed the inspection before opening the checkpoint and letting them through toward Jerusalem.
This is why I prefer to travel via Jaba’ Checkpoint, even though it closes at certain hours to give smoother passage to settlers traveling from settlements in the central and northern West Bank to Jerusalem. They let us continue from the Adam roundabout circle to Hizma Checkpoint and into Jerusalem only after all the settlers have passed. Closing Jaba’ Checkpoint prevents Palestinian cars from leaving Kafr ‘Aqab toward the Adam roundabout and Hizma Checkpoint, which means settlers can travel congestion-free on the road between the Adam roundabout and Hizma Checkpoint. The soldiers close the checkpoint at least twice a day, in the morning between 5:00 A.M. and 9:00 A.M. and in the afternoon between 4:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M., and sometimes from 5:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M.
I work as a cook, and used to work at a restaurant on Jaffa Street. I’ve lost my job because of the checkpoint. I was supposed to show up for work at 7:00 A.M., but because of the checkpoints, especially Jaba’, I couldn’t make it on time. During the morning rush hour, cars stand at Qalandia Checkpoint for between 40 minutes and an hour and a half, and so some cars turn to Jaba’ Checkpoint, which is also closed, and people wait in their cars for a long time until it opens.
And so, in order to make it to work on Jaffa Street by 7:00 A.M., I had to wait in the line of cars at Qalandia Checkpoint at 4:00 A.M., or at Jaba’ Checkpoint at 5:00 A.M. But even if I reached Jaba’ Checkpoint at that hour, sometimes there were surprises, and it didn’t open on time, and then I’d be late for work. I was fired from my job on Jaffa Street because I kept arriving late.
Now I work in Atarot, and I bought a scooter to bypass the traffic jams at the checkpoints. But the problem is that about 50% of Kafr ‘Aqab residents already have scooters to get around the lines of cars at the checkpoints, so there’s also a long line of motorcycles at the checkpoint, especially at Qalandia. According to the checkpoint procedure, they let one car through at a time, followed by one scooter and so on. At Jaba’ Checkpoint, on the other hand, there is no such procedure, but because of the congestion, it’s hard to reach the front of the line, all the way up to the checkpoint.
Imagine that after 15 years of working on Jaffa Street, I lost my job mainly because of Jaba’ Checkpoint, even though the drive from Kafr ‘Aqab to Jaffa Street under normal conditions, without military checkpoints, would take no more than half an hour, or an hour if there were traffic jams inside Jerusalem.
When my son was four, he had severe stomach aches. The doctor advised me to take him to the hospital, and because we are Jerusalemites, I preferred to take him to a hospital inside Jerusalem. [...] Qalandia Checkpoint was closed at that time because it’s been closing intermittently since the war broke out on 7 October 2023, so we had to travel via Jaba’ Checkpoint, where we were delayed for about 40 minutes, and then to Hizma Checkpoint [...]. When we reached the hospital, the doctors told us that his appendix had burst on the way to the hospital.
Now I use a scooter, but it’s not so easy in winter, and I have to be very careful not to get into an accident, God forbid. Still, I’m held up at the checkpoints three, four times a week, get to work late and have to explain to my manager that I was stuck at a checkpoint. Sometimes, I even take a video and send it to him on the way to convince my employer that I’m late because of the military checkpoints and not because I didn’t bother to get to work on time.
About two years ago, when my son was four, he had severe stomach aches. The doctor advised me to take him to the hospital, and because we are Jerusalemites, I preferred to take him to a hospital inside Jerusalem. We called for an ambulance at a cost of 300 shekels (~ 100 USD). Qalandia Checkpoint was closed at that time because it’s been closing intermittently since the war broke out on 7 October 2023, so we had to travel via Jaba’ Checkpoint, where we were delayed for about 40 minutes due to heavy traffic, and then to Hizma Checkpoint. When we got there, we transferred to an Israeli ambulance that was waiting on the other side of the checkpoint [Israeli ambulances do not enter Kafr ‘Aqab without a military escort] and continued to the hospital. On the way, my son’s condition deteriorated and became critical. When we reached the hospital, the doctors told us that his appendix had burst on the way to the hospital. That caused medical complications, and he was hospitalized for 30 days. If he had reached the hospital in time, after a standard appendectomy, he would have been hospitalized for only two or three days.
The adhan, the muezzin’s call to break the fast, sounded while we were still on the way, and we had to break the fast with water. We arrived there 40 minutes after the time of iftar, the meal breaking the fast. Imagine, children six, nine, 10, 16 and 17 years old, who are fasting and have to break the fast with only water. I remember that my six-year-old son started crying from hunger.
I remember that last Ramadan, in 2026, we were invited to my brother-in-law’s house, my wife’s brother, in Jabal al-Mukabber. There was congestion at Qalandia Checkpoint, so I drove toward Jaba’ Checkpoint, which was closed, and there was a long line of cars there. So I went back toward Ramallah and drove to ‘Ein Siniya Checkpoint, and it took us two and a half hours to reach Jabal al-Mukabber, even though it’s 12 kilometers from our house. The adhan, the muezzin’s call to break the fast, sounded while we were still on the way, and we had to break the fast with water. We arrived there 40 minutes after the time of iftar, the meal breaking the fast. Imagine, children six, nine, 10, 16 and 17-years-old, who are fasting and have to break the fast with only water. I remember that my six-year-old son started crying from hunger.
- Testimony given to B’Tselem field researcher ‘Amer ‘Aruri on 26 April 2026