‘Anata, Qalandiya, Thu 20.3.08, Morning
Purims' weekend – closure for under 30s.
6.20 .
AnataThere
were few pedestrians, but many cars in 2 lanes. All the trunks of the cars were
checked. We noticed that there were
no schoolchildren or school buses.
When we checked the gate at Ras Hamis, the soldiers told us that there
were school holiday.
(Easter?).
7.00
QalandiaThere
seemed to be fewer cars than usual in the carpark. This could well be because of the
closure due to Purim. Once
again there were only two carousels operating. It is now at least three weeks that when
we come one particular carousel is out of order. This also coincides with a period when
the people waiting outside are particularly tense and, instead of queuing in an
orderly fashion, all bunch up, with some trying to climb up over the fence. Also, in the past usually individual
women would be allowed to go the head of the queue. In the present atmosphere the men did
not show the same consideration. In
one or two cases we helped women with babies through. The broken carousel may not be the cause
of this tension, but certainly does not help! In general in the last four weeks
the situation in the CP has worsened considerably.
When
we arrived there was quite a large group of people waiting to go through the
special gate for women and teachers etc..
We asked the lone soldier in the outside office for help and he phoned
for someone to open the gate. After
some 10 minutes a policeman opened it, first letting through the
women.
At
later stage when there were a number of women waiting at the carousel we
suggested opening the special gate again but the soldier pointed out that they
were half of the by then small number of waiting people and that they would just
displace the men. (Men have sometimes complained to us that when the women are
allowed in as a group they then delay the entry by the men who are trying to get
to work.)
All
five gates were open but processing seemed to be extremely slow. The soldier managing the carousel opened
it sensibly, in accordance with the pressure at the gates, and would sometimes
advise as to which gates were emptier.
Altogether, he seemed to be
really trying to help. It is a
sorry pass we have reached when we have to be grateful for such little
kindnesses!One
woman was struggling with a crying baby at gate 5 for almost an hour. It turned out that she was waiting for
the DCO to open. So we made a point
of phoning right after 8.30 to see that the office would open on time. First, A. (dputy of the Matak
commander) told us that the prisoners’ families had to go through (we
pointed out that there weren’t any today), then that there were no soldiers
available! By 8.45 we phoned Dudu
who said the DCO should open at 9 but when we told him that the notice said 8.30
and that people depended on this information he was very helpful and the office
opened almost immediately. He did
point out that, as far as the woman with her baby were concerned, she could have
sat in the ‘waiting-room’ outside – but this does not take into account the fact
that people want to get as close as possible to the head of the queue. There could easily be a couple of
seats provided for the neediest people waiting for the DCO. (Today one elderly woman was sitting on
the ground).A few
minutes afte 8 there wasn no crowd at the carousels, but when we left at 9 only
2 gates were open and there was again a line of people waiting at the
carousels..All
the time we were there the soldier handling the carousel and the policeman who
came once to open the special gate were the only personnel we could see – so there was no one who could give
information.
Checkpoint Shu'afat camp / Anata-Shu'afat (Jerusalem)
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The Shu’afat checkpoint is located in the northern part of East Jerusalem at the exit from the village of Anata and the Shu’afat refugee camp, which are located in the area annexed to Jerusalem in 1967. The refugee camp borders the Shu’afat neighborhood to the west, Pisgat Ze’ev to the north, the French Hill neighborhood to the south and the planned expansion of Ma’aleh Adumim to E-1 in the east. It was established in 1966 for 1948 refugees from the West Bank and was populated after the Six Day War by persons who had been expelled from the Jewish Quarter. Today its population comprises some 25,000 people holding blue ID cards and some 15,000 people with Palestinian ID cards. The camp lacks adequate infrastructure and services, and suffers from poverty, neglect and overcrowding. All its buildings are connected to the public electricity and water infrastructure, but not all are connected to the sewer system. The camp’s services are provided by UNRWA, except for those such as health clinics and transportation of pupils to schools in Jerusalem. In 2005, the Israeli High Court of Justice rejected a suit by the residents requesting that the route of the separation fence be drawn such that the camp would remain on the Israeli side, but conditioned its approval of the route on the establishment of a convenient and rapid crossing facility for the inhabitants of the neighborhood, most of whom are residents of Jerusalem.
A temporary checkpoint operated there until December, 2011. It was extremely congested during rush hours, and dangerous for pedestrians (especially children) because of inadequate safety provisions. The new checkpoint was inaugurated south of the old one, for public and private transportation and for pedestrians, intended solely for the residents of the camp – holders of blue ID cards, and those with Palestinian ID cards who possess appropriate permits. There are five vehicle inspection stations at the checkpoint, and two for pedestrians (one of which is currently closed) where scanners have been installed but are not yet operating. According to the army, representatives of government agencies will also be present to provide services to residents of the neighbourhood. The pedestrian lanes are very long, located far from the small parking lots, and accessible through only a single revolving gate.
Anat TuegJan-25-2026Anata: A new outpost has been built south of the junction
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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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