Qalandiya – in the DCL offices, the same neglect, the same exposed electric wires
Friends and others told me that yesterday evening, children from the Qalandiya refugee camp angrily attacked the checkpoint, throwing stones and fire bombs at it.
They were really young, I was told – 13 or 14 years old, no more.
In retaliation, the army exerted collective punishment, prohibited by international law, and closed the checkpoint on both sides – for those coming and going.
This lasted several hours, and only at dawn was the thoroughfare opened again.
Furthermore, without any legal authority, soldiers raided the shop that is open at all hours, and confiscated the memory card from the shop’s security cameras.
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I came back to the DCO to see the changes following the renovations, because of which those offices were closed the last time I was there, at the place that is officially meant “For the welfare of the local population and supplying and operating their public services”.
It is important to remember that closing the place for any reason whatsoever freezes the lives of thousands of Palestinians who badly need a permit for every step of their lives and deaths, and situates their days on hold, as I was told when I asked if the Palestinians were told about this closing (as I reported) – “They’ll come, see it’s closed, and leave”.
I entered the front of the offices before closing time, and did not notice any changes since I last came. The same neglect, the same stained and raggedy benches, the same exposed electric wires on the wall, the same problems and the same heart-rending applications. Only different people.
Inside sat people and waited in shining, blinding light, whereas outside, in a place called ‘the waiting shed’ which is no shed at all, sat people in the kind of darkness that mirrors their inner state.
**
On my way back from the West Bank to Jerusalem I was stopped by the inspecting girl-soldier who yelled that I was not allowed to be where I had been, and that I was committing a criminal offence.
She took my ID and made me wait at the side of the armored post where she was sitting. After quite a few minutes, and after her making a phone call somewhere, she gave me back my ID and yelled at me: “Scram!”
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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