Qalandiya - crowding, shouting and pushing
Another Qalandiya morning, again queues collapse … till when?
05.15. Dark and cold. On the Palestinian side, the falafel stand is inside the shed, as well as the beigel seller with his wagon, while outside is the renewed kiosk. As usual, people enter via turnstiles at the end of the three cages, and they wait in the ‘slalom’, an area bordered by low fences, to reach the 5 checking stations. At this stage, the lines are reasonably orderly and all 5 stations are open.
As the lines were orderly, women were allowed to fit in at the entrance to the cages. By 6 o’clock there were already people waiting for the humanitarian gate to open. As usual this happened late, and as usual we found the sight of people trying to force their way into the leftmost cage, making those in line angry. In a second the lines collapsed and turned into a mass of shouting and pushing. When a policeman arrived, followed by guards and the D.C.O. officer, they found crowds waiting for them at the humanitarian gate. Till when are we to see these depressing sights? And more important, till when are the unfortunate Palestinians, whose only desire is to provide for their families as our “hewers of wood and drawers of water,’ to suffer this???
The women so entitled passed through the humanitarian gate. People who arrived for the Ministry of the Interior were told to wait until 7.30. Meanwhile, we went outside to see (unsuccessfully) any changes behind the white metal hoarding that hides the new building in progress. On our return we asked the D.C.O. officer and the policeman when the new wing was to open. They said they did not know. The guards now and again entered the checking station area – it was unclear why they did so.
Fortunately today the lines re-formed relatively quickly. The policeman called those waiting for the Ministry of the Interior even before 7.30, and they entered via the humanitarian gate and a passage that bypasses the checking station.
At 7.45 the lines were short enough to fit within the cages, and we joined one. Passage took under 30 minutes.
Subsequently it turned out that an end to the nightmare was imminent. A week later, on 20.2, the new, improved wing was opened with much publicity, with technological features which should make passage must faster and easier.
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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