Qalandiya, Fri 30.12.11, Morning
Trans. Judith Green
9:15 About 100 people standing in front of the checkpoint. 4 interior entrances were open, but work went very slowly. About 30 people were in front of the humanitarian checkpoint. Only a few people were allowed in at a time.
9:22 The humanitarian checkpoint was opened, but closed after a few minutes. A few minutes after, about 40 people were crowded together at the checkpoint. In answer to our question, the female officer from the military police mentioned that all the interior entrances were open. Meanwhile, we noticed that the number of people who crowded before the outside entrance increased and inside the number decreased. We spoke with one of the people waiting in line, who had a permit to visit his hospitalized son. He stood in the humanitarian line and was turned back. He try to pass through in the regular line. The problem was that his permit was for accompanying a sick person. Since his son was already hospitalized, his permit was not appropriate. We spoke with the officers there about speeding about their work.
We noticed a man about 70 yrs. old who went to a far corner to relieve himself. In our inspection of the place, we saw that all 3 of the rest rooms were closed. We pointed this out to one of the officers, that in an area where thousands of people pass through, there was not even one rest room.
10:25 The number of people waiting outside the entrance decreased. Most of the people had passed through to the interior entrances.
Qalandiya Checkpoint / Atarot Pass (Jerusalem)
See all reports for this place-
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)
Tamar FleishmanApr-26-2026Qalandiya. Things you see on the way
-