קלנדיה
Qalandiya
A morning that started calmly; the pressure grew, but remained orderly.
We arrived at 5.15 and passed on foot to the Palestinian side. We are pleasantly surprised by the absence of queues. The turnstile closest to the cubicle where the soldier operating the turnstiles sits, is open and everyone arriving passes through at once. All 5 checking stations are open and have very short waiting lines. Later the soldier closed the turnstile now and again but long lines did not form. When there was a line, women were allowed in from the side, though they usually simply waited in line. It took 15 minutes to pass.
As time passed, more people came and lines formed in all three cages, but here, too, they were very short. A few minutes before 6.00, a D.C.O. officer arrived. At this stage he was alone with the soldier operating the turnstiles, but because of the light traffic decided not to open the humanitarian gate. Later more people began arriving and the lines lengthened. A new soldier seemed to be less experienced and sometimes opened only the two nearest turnstiles. People in line in the third cage began shouting, and we were afraid that the lines would collapse. Fortunately the soldier heard the shoults (for a change) and all three turnstiles were opened. The humanitarian gate was not opened even when the lines got longer.
We went outside to buy tea. We noticed that there were no posters informing that the parking lot would be closed during Ramadan. Perhaps this year it will be open on weekdays? We chatted with 2 young men. They usually arrive at 11 or 12, they say, and then there are queues and problems. We tell them that this morning is relatively quiet. One tells us that he works on three jobs – “in transport, in security, and in a restaurant.” We said goodbye to the kiosk man and the beigel and cake sellers, who will not be here during Ramadan.
When we got back there was already a policeman inside. Afterwards there were the policeman, a policewoman and three security men. The lines were long, but orderly. Although there were women and elderly people, the officer decided not to open the humanitarian gate, and they were sent to the normal queue.
We joined one of the lines at 6.40 and it took us about 20 minutes to pass. We met S., a woman we know. We advised her to go in front of us because sometimes the soldiers delay us. She passed and then we thought to do so, but were called back by a soldier in Arabic. But then one of the security men by chance came by and signaled to him by hand to let us through.
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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