Qalandiya, Tue 28.5.13, Morning
Arriving at 05:45 there already were short queues but the flow was satisfactory. Once or twice the crowd whistled to attract the soldier's attention to open the turnstiles. By 06:30 there were no queues and the passers-through passed freely through the turnstile at the edge of the left-hand enclosure.
In one case we requested the policeman at the entrance to the "aquarium" to open the "humanitarian" passage for a woman holding an infant. He waited a minute or two before asking the Matak soldier, stationed in the "aquarium", to open the gate, which he did, also enabling passage to some others. But in general, passage through the enclosures seemed faster.
About to leave at 07:00, we were approached by a man in distress: he told us that he was employed at the same place in Israel for the past 30 years and always passed through without difficulty, but today the system rejected his fingerprint and confiscated his permit. We called the Matak at Qalandiya to no effect. Since it opens for inquiries at 08:30 we advised him to wait but then were reminded of a case some weeks back with similar circumstances. The cause then turned out to be a pending traffic fine. Apparently, this person too had a fine to pay: his adult son had been detained when participating in a demonstration at Qalandiya, was put on trial and fined several thousand IS.
We called him later on: Indeed, paying up the fine, his permit was returned.
The question remains: is a father – completely detached from the case – responsible for his son's fines? Is this elementary justice?
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 FleishmanNov-30-2025Qalandiya: Puddles and dirt after the rain
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