Qalandiya
A calm morning in Qalandiya.
05.15. When we arrived there were already many men on the Israel side, waiting for transport to work. On the Palestinian side, the lines extended as far as the roundabout on the new driveway. (The driveway seems to be for public transport. A boom opened automatically for a bus to and from A-Ram to enter it, and a yellow taxi was parked inside it. But another taxi had to drop its passengers beyond the boom.)
The soldier inside the cubicle was unusually attentive and helpful. Although we feared he was letting too few people through the turnstiles each time, he opened the latter frequently (and gradually increased the numbers), and repeatedly made clear announcements that checking station no.5 was available for those without packages. The woman soldier who replaced him shortly after 6 o’clock was also quite efficient.
At 6.10, two D.C.O. officers arrived, followed by two guards. They opened the humanitarian gate for the few people who had gathered there.
All proceeded calmly. One man (whose place was being saved for him in the queue) chatted with us. He complained that, although he comes from near Givat Zeev, he is not allowed through there, and has to make the time-consuming trip via Qalandiya. He works in Atarot at the poultry factory (at “Glatt,” in his words).
At 7.15 we joined one of the lines which by now were within the shed. It took some 35 minutes to pass through (which seems a long time, considering how smoothly everything was working!). Inside the checking station were a few older men waiting for permission to pass without permits at 8 o’clock.
We did not see when the D.C.O. team left, but they were still at the humanitarian gate.
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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