Qalandiya, Sun 12.4.09, Afternoon
Irit S', Yehudit K', Roni H' (reporting)
Easter Sunday, Intermediary day of Pessah, Jerusalem is one big traffic jam, bursting in all seams.
Qalandiya, 16:00
An heavy north- and southbound car traffic, accompanied by impatient honking of the horns. Empty buses in a queue to Jerusalem, waiting to pass the control and to pick up their passengers, who had all to go through the pedestrians' passage (including children and elderly).
Checkpoint economy at its best. An enterprising person has opened a car wash station at the foot of the wall with the graffiti and the business seems to go well . Instead of nerve-racking waiting, have your car renewed by washing! Right opposite the soldiers' booth and in full view of the soldiers, sits an elderly Palestinian with his cart and offers boiled corn (tiras ham) to the waiting drivers. He obviously succeds with his original offer. It is good to see again these signs of vitality in the midst of the oppressive environment.
The watch tower is black of smoke and the smell of smoke is still in the air. We could not find out what has happened here.
At the pedestrians' crossing relatively few people. There is holiday closure and only Jerusalem residents with blue ID can pass. One station is open and very soon a long line is formed.The wait is 20 minutes. When the female soldier checks us she inquires in genuine curiousity, if we are not afraid amidst of so many Palestinians. When we negate she obviously does not believe us.
Happy holidays!
Qalandiya Checkpoint / Atarot Pass (Jerusalem)
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Click here to watch a video from Qalandiya checkpoint up to mid 2019 Three kilometers south of Ramallah, in the heart of Palestinian population. Integrates into "Jerusalem Envelope" as part of Wall that separates between northern suburbs that were annexed to Jerusalem in 1967: Kafr Aqab, Semiramis and Qalandiya, and the villages of Ar-Ram and Bir Nabala, also north of Jerusalem, and the city itself. Some residents of Kafr Aqab, Semiramis and Qalandiya have Jerusalem ID cards. A terminal operated by Israel Police has functioned since early 2006. As of August 2006, northbound pedestrians are not checked. Southbound Palestinians must carry Jerusalem IDs; holders of Palestinian Authority IDs cannot pass without special permits. Vehicular traffic from Ramallah to other West Bank areas runs to the north of Qalandiya. In February 2019, the new facility of the checkpoint was inaugurated aiming to make it like a "border crossing". The bars and barbed wire fences were replaced with walls of perforated metal panels. The check is now performed at multiple stations for face recognition and the transfer of an e-card. The rate of passage has improved and its density has generally decreased, but lack of manpower and malfunctions cause periods of stress. The development and paving of the roads has not yet been completed, the traffic of cars and pedestrians is dangerous, and t the entire vicinity of the checkpoint is filthy. In 2020 a huge pedestrian bridge was built over the vehicle crossing with severe mobility restrictions (steep stairs, long and winding route). The pedestrian access from public transport to the checkpoint from the north (Ramallah direction) is unclear, and there have been cases of people, especially people with disabilities, who accidentally reached the vehicle crossing and were shot by the soldiers at the checkpoint. In the summer of 2021, work began on a new, sunken entrance road from Qalandiya that will lead directly to Road 443 towards Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. At the same time, the runways of the old Atarot airport were demolished and infrastructure was prepared for a large bus terminal. (updated October 2021)
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