A very calm morning in Qalandiya
05.15. We were pleased to find only short queues. 4 checking stations were open. The beigel seller was at his post. Our friend H. chatted with us while waiting to enter the cage. He told us that there was an improvised checkpoint on his way one day. As he was in a hurry he sped, and was fined 750 shekels. “Lucky that they didn’t think he was trying to run them down!” From our long acqaintance with him, we assume that when they stopped him and spoke with him, they realized he was no terrorist. He speaks Hebrew fluently, is well versed in Israeli goings-on after working dozens of years in Mahane Yehuda. Nevertheless, we were afraid that they might have opened a police file for him (which would automatically have cancelled his permit), and were happy to note that he was not turned back at the checking station.
The beigel seller, told us that yesterday, too, the situation was like this until 6 o’clock, but after the change of soldiers in the checking stations, checking became very slow and the lines extended all the way to the road. Fortunately this did not happen today. Even after the change, the mood remained very calm and lines were very short, If they existed at all. Sometimes 5 checking stations were open. The humanitarian gate was not opened, but there was no need.
At one point a Palestinian journalist arrived, with a camera and its stand, apparently working for a foreign Arab network. He tried to find someone to interview, but because there was no queue for a change, people did not want to delay and rushed past him. Finally he did find someone to interview. Then he took his camera through a cage and its turnstile, and stood in front of the checking-stations, and began to interview people there. Only after a while did a guard approach him. We saw that the guard took from him his identity card and spoke with him. Afterwards the identity card was returned to the photographer who continued speaking with the guard.
At about 6.30 we entered the empty cage, passed through the turnstile which had been kept open, and passed through to the Israel side in record time.
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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