‘Atara, Hizma, Jaba (Lil), Qalandiya, Mon 6.9.10, Afternoon
16:05, Qalandiya: Approaching Qalandiya on the road from Beit Hanina, we got stuck in a traffic jam about 100 yards before the Southern Roundabout. It took us almost 20 minutes to reach the roundabout where we found that policemen had detained several drivers who had tried to cut through the traffic by driving in the opposite lane. The detained vehicles were parked in one of the traffic lanes, further exacerbating the problem and enhancing the size of the jam.
Looking into the pedestrian CP from the northern shed, we could see that the three active passageways were full of people waiting and progress was very slow. We called headquarters and spoke to Yahav who transferred our call to Keinan. K. said he would check on matters and try to solve the problems. We entered the CP and stood in the internal passageways. People had been waiting a long time and most looked exhausted from the heat. Those we asked told us that the wait in Qalandiya generally took an hour every day. (One man complained bitterly that the night before, i.e. Sunday, he had had to wait on line for 3 hours before getting through the CP at 1 AM.)
16:40: We spoke with K. again. The traffic problems in the Southern Roundabout had been solved, the drivers had been fined and released. K. said that now he would try to solve the problems in the pedestrian passageways. It quickly turned out that the X-ray machine in Passageway 1 was out of order so that only people without bags and parcels were allowed through No. 1. The population of people without parcels at Qalandiya approaches zero. All women carry bags and all university students carry books and notebooks while most of the remainder carry packages of food for breaking the Ramadan fast. Only a very small number of men walk around with empty hands. Because the other 2 passageways were full to bursting, newcomers entering the CP immediately got in line in Passageway 1. There was no sign up announcing that Passageway 1 was restricted to those without parcels. This, however, did not make a difference to the soldiers on duty in that passageway who felt that people were annoying them by getting on line with parcels in hand. One of the soldiers shouted repeatedly into the PA system (which is painful to the ears) every time he identified some poor person standing on line with hands full.
16:50 – 17:30: Natanya and I got on line in Passageway 3. It took us 40 minutes to get through the CP.
On the Jerusalem side we saw that traffic heading north was flowing unimpeded. We returned to the northern shed. There were still only 2 passageways operating effectively (even though 2 soldiers were on duty in the aquarium in Passageway 1). We reported this to K. who told us that the soldiers at the CP had reported that they had opened 2 more lines (i.e. 4 active passageways). By this time there was also a long line (of about 40) waiting in the northern shed.
We remained in Qalandiya until 18:00. Only 2 passageways operated all the while we were there. We told this to K.
On our way back to Jerusalem we passed thru Lil/Jabba CP where traffic was flowing. The road to Hizmeh, on the other hand, was completely jammed in both directions. While we were standing in the jam, Sylvia phoned to tell us that the situation in Atara was even worse with hundreds of cars stuck on the road. Unfortunately there was no way that we could extricate ourselves so we reported the problem to the Humanitarian Hotline, not a very effective line of action.
'Atara
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'Atara Checkpoint
Situated at the northern entrance to Ramallah from Route 465, called also Bir Zeit Checkpoint. Nowadays only remains of what used to be a busy checkpoint remain, a pillbox and concrete blocks.
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Hizma
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Hizma
A checkpoint at the north-eastern entrance to the Jerusalem area which was annexed in 1967, at Pisgat Zeev. The passage is allowed to bearers of blue IDs only. Open 24 hours a day.
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Jaba' (Lil)
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Jaba' (Lil) In fact, the Jaba checkpoint is east of the Qalandiya checkpoint. Its declared purpose is the prevention of Israeli citizens from entering Area A. A road checkpoint for vehicles, located on Road 65, borders the southern fence of Kfar Jaba, about three kilometers east of the Qalandiya checkpoint, on the road leading to the settlement of Adam on Road 60. Archaeological excavations within the village found the remains of a cloth house from the First Temple period. The events that led to the construction of the checkpoint are precisely here: on the day of the abduction of Gilad Shalit and before the outbreak of the Second Lebanon War, a 17-year-old man from one of the settlements was abducted by a Palestinian cell. His body was found several days later at the entrances to Ramallah. A military investigation revealed that his abductors had taken him along this route. The checkpoint was set up to prevent future kidnappings and to warn settlers from traveling to Ramallah and entering Area A (which is forbidden for Israelis). The checkpoint that operates around the clock. Usually only vehicles traveling in the direction of Ramallah are inspected. (November 2016): Every morning, when the settlers en masse travel to Jerusalem on Route 60 and every afternoon they return from Jerusalem on Route 60, the army initiates a traffic jam at the entrance to the Jaba checkpoint and stops the movement of Palestinians traveling toward Route 60. (February 2020): In the last two years the checkpoint has not always been manned. Sometimes the soldiers come and just stand, sometimes they come and stop and check those who enter the village, sometimes they patrol the alleys of the village, sometimes they fire stun grenades and gas and sometimes they invade houses and stop young people, say those passing through the Hazma checkpoint. (Updated February 2020)
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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 FleishmanMay-13-2025Qalandiya: Back-to-back procedure for transferring patients
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