At the entrance to the new facilities at the Qalandiyah checkpoint separating Jerusalem from the West Bank, someone (probably the Defense Ministry) put up a large sign that reads, "The hope of us all." It bears an odd picture of an anemone flower with the trunk of a tree and roots. On the trunk are the (Arabic) words for security and stability, and on the petals it says: education and culture, investments, development and livelihood. Perhaps the person who put the sign up had good intentions, but the thousands of Palestinians who pass through here daily see it as a cynical Israeli approach to their suffering.

"I feel here exactly as I felt in prison," said the well-known Palestinian poet Ali al-Khalili on Saturday. He passed through here in the morning. There is no hope at this sort of checkpoint, which obstructs development, keeps children from reaching their schools on time and prevents people from making a livelihood.

The new checkpoint at Qalandiyah and other similar, large ones that have been built in the past several months between the West Bank and Israel, are to all intents and purposes border crossings. For someone who still recalls that for nearly 25 years (1967-91), there were no such roadblocks at all between the territories and Israel, this is astonishing. There were terrorists and terror attacks then, too, but nevertheless Arabs from the territories traveled freely from Rafah to Jenin and throughout Israel. The new checkpoints, like the separation fence and walls whose construction is nearing the end, are perhaps the most dramatic milestones in the history of this country in recent years - no less so than the wars, and more than the regime changes wrought by elections.

Surrounding the new Qalandiyah checkpoint there are still enormous piles of filth, as well as beggars and pitiful peddlers' booths that the passersbys call "the Palestinian duty-free." But within the structure are clear signs of an attempt to resemble a respectable international border crossing. There is a parking lot with handicapped-only spaces, a bit of a garden (more precisely, an attempt at one), and a spacious hall that can accommodate hundreds of travelers. At present the effort to give the place an air of respectability is like trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, but maybe in the future things will improve.

After all of the crowds, the pushing and the shoving of the previous checkpoint, the passage now is quieter. The most important advantage here is the facilities that provide maximum security for the soldiers. There is no physical contact between the Palestinians and them. On my two visits last week (the new checkpoint has been open for less than three weeks), people wishing to go from Jerusalem to Ramallah and to the rest of the West Bank were not checked at all. The searches, the checks and the problems occur, naturally, only in the opposite direction: from the West Bank into Jerusalem and Israel.

Coming from Ramallah, one walks through a maze of iron fences leading to revolving gates. Only one person can go through these electric gates at a time. From a hidden post, a soldier can stop the movement of the gate at any moment or trap the person inside. Beyond the row of gates are three or four examination stations.

These consist of reinforced windows, on the other side of which (at Qalandiyah) sits a military police officer, who uses a loudspeaker and calls out "hawiya" (identity card). Then the person bends down to insert his or her identity card and travel permit into a small slot. At the old checkpoint one could speak with the officer to explain something or try to arouse his compassion. Now there is no one to speak to, since in most cases the officer cannot hear you unless he presses the right button. Afterward there is another facility and another electric revolving gate, and the whole process is covered by a network of cameras and loudspeakers.

The two times I was there no crowding was evident, but Arab acquaintances tell me that during the morning and evening rush hours, there are waits of two hours or more. This is the situation today, when the separation wall is not yet complete and thousands of people pass through such checkpoints. What will happen when the wall is finished?

The new Qalandiyah checkpoint is not a harbinger of hope for all of us, as the sign at the entrance declares, but rather one of desperation for everyone.