קלנדיה
Rainy and congested at Qalandiya checkpoint.
We arrived about 05:15. The weather is rainy, but it isn’t raining as we walk from the car to the checkpoint. We’re greeted by the muezzin calling from Qalandiya and a group of worshippers at the entrance to the checkpoint. The long lines extend past the covered area. The five inspection lanes are already operating, relatively few people waiting at them. The soldier in the aquarium allows only few to enter each time and doesn’t always open all three revolving gates at the end of the cages. That annoys people waiting. When the soldier emerges we ask him to open them all and admit more people to the area before the inspection booths in order to shorten the long lines. The soldier claims he’s working “according to the rules.” Only when a policeman arrives, about 05:30, the rules suddenly change and return to normal: all three revolving gates open each time and more people are allowed to wait in the area beyond the cages, before the inspection booths.
It begins to rain; those at the end of the line move into the covered area. Now the rate of inspection is reasonable. Women may join the line at the entrance to the cages. Toward 06:00 a line forms at the humanitarian gate. Two guards and a policewoman arrive but the gate doesn’t open. At 06:15 we telephone; we’re told they’re looking into it. At 06:22 they say they’re opening the gate but nothing happens. The guards also say the gate will open immediately. Meanwhile the regular lines are getting shorter and many give up and move over to them. Only after 06:30 does a DCL officer arrive and the gate first opens.
At 06:45 there are no lines beyond the covered area, and they’re not long. We joined them and went through in about 15 minutes. We emerged into annoying rain and decided to forgo Shu’afat this 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 FleishmanMay-13-2025Qalandiya: Back-to-back procedure for transferring patients
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