Qalandiya
A slow and crowded morning
When we arrived at the Qalandiya Checkpoint at 6 a.m., all five checking stations were open but the pace was very slow. By 6:15 the waiting line extended deep into the parking lot and remained that way until about 7:20 (and bear in mind that many of the workers in the Atarot Industrial Zone must be at work by 7:00). At 6:50 we began following a man who had just joined the line; it took him 35 minutes to reach the turnstile leading into a checking station. A few people commented to us that Monday (the previous day) had been particularly difficult.
The Humanitarian Gate was opened at 6:20 by a new woman soldier and afterward every 10-15 minutes. Later on we were happy to see and talk to the veteran DCO soldier F. (whom we thought had be demobilized but was serving at a different post).
At 7:45, when the “cages” had emptied out, we passed through one of them. But then we waited on line for 20 minutes to enter the checking station and therefore left the checkpoint at 8:05.
Not for the first time we note that the Qalandiya Checkpoint is simply not built nor equipped to handle the thousands of people who pass through it on foot and by car each weekday morning on their way to work, school, hospitals, etc. And the more the government extends the issuance of entry permits to Palestinians (if indeed it does), without extending with the ability of this checkpoint to handle the them during peak hours, the worse the problem will grow. One hand accommodates (at best) while the other punishes the "suckers" who bother to request entry permits: That’s the true meaning of the permits regime.
Line outside the checkpoint at 6:15.
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 FleishmanFeb-27-2026Qalandiya: On the way to prayer
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