Qalandiya
First shift after Ramadan
Four of the five checking stations were open when we arrived at 5:30 a.m. but the lines were far shorter than we had anticipated (this was the second day of work after the end of Ramadan). As usual at that hour, progress forward was slow (it has a way of picking up during the course of the morning). At one point after 6:00, when the sleeves leading into the checking stations were almost empty and the (newly arrived) soldier in charge of opening the turnstiles at the end of the cages was not opening them, by banging a coin on the bars we tried to get his attention. At the same time, people on line were shouting “Soldier!” for the same purpose. At first he didn’t respond at all. Ultimately, however, he opened the turnstiles and allowed all the people on line to go through at once, leaving the cages empty and long lines entering the sleeves to the checking stations. Either he did not know how to close the turnstiles (could that be?) or he was annoyed by the attempts to prompt him to open them and solved his problem by letting everyone through. Either way, it then became easier to regulate the flow out of the cages.
A Civil Administration officer and civilian security guard opened the Humanitarian Gate at 6:15. Shortly thereafter, we received a call from the cancer patient we were to drive to Hadassah Hospital saying that he had come through the checkpoint by car and was waiting for us in the south parking lot. So we passed through the Humanitarian Gate and waited on line for a quarter of an hour before entering the checking station, leaving the checkpoint at 6:40 and reaching the hospital about half an hour later. The patient has since been turned over to the capable hands of Haderekh L’Hachlamah, an NGO of volunteers that specializes in driving Palestinian patients from checkpoints to Israeli hospitals.
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 FleishmanFeb-27-2026Qalandiya: On the way to prayer
-