Qalandiya, Sun 8.7.12, Morning
Translator: Charles K.
05:30 The five fenced corridors are open, as they have been for the past two weeks. An orderly line at each of the three revolving gates. People go through at a very reasonable rate, and a number of laborers reply to our greeting that the crossing is “OK.”
06:00 The officer and his accompanying guard arrive and open the humanitarian gate, greeting us. We counted about 50 people going through every 4-5 minutes.
06:10 The line of laborers has gotten longer, and to our surprise the rate people go through has slowed. The line stretches beyond the canopy and laborers kept flowing to the three lines. Now we counted about 30 people crossing in 5 minutes.
06:30 We asked the “affable” officer to urge the soldiers to move people through more quickly, because we had the impression that things slowed down significantly and the line spilled over beyond the canopy. The officer explained that the soldiers are working as they should, and when he tries to hurry them up they actually slow down.
06:45 It looked to us that the atmosphere was heating up and we feared that there would again be turmoil, that the line would become disorderly like in the past. We again spoke to the officer, who was very happy to talk to us. He said the soldiers were from the Border Police, who don’t do what he tells them to. Our experience previously has been that when an officer arrives, the crossing speeds up.
07:30 We left when the line had shortened and people continued to go through at a fairly slow rate. It’s pretty discouraging, because we had the impression during the past two weeks that since the five revolving gates opened early, laborers went through at a fairly reasonable rate.
To sum up: We had the impression there were more people than usual crossing, but we can’t prove it. All the laborers we spoke to complained that only one or two revolving gates are open during the entire morning on Friday, and soldiers move people through very slowly. The officer wasn’t able to provide an acceptable explanation of why it should be like that other than the fact that, as everyone knows, many people are on their way to worship.
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)
Tamar FleishmanOct-27-2026Qalandiya. Closure – Climbing over the fence
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