‘Atara, Qalandiya, Sun 31.10.10, Afternoon
Translation: Ruth Fleishman
Qalandiya:
Once we made out the smell of urine at the north entrance, once our ears were deafened by the guard shouting from the tower: "Hay… you… Hay… You… stay away from the fence!", once our eyes noticed that the guard was waving his rifle at us as he was yelling: "Hay… Hay… No Pictures!", we knew at last that we had reached Qalandiya checkpoint.
We weren't surprised by the slow pace in which the inspection of those entering its gates was conducted. We had gotten used to the scanning of the IDs and the typing in of ID numbers. Those too will be kept aside until the bad times begin and this information will come in handy.
There was an innovation at the actual passage: on the metal detector gates metal strips were hung, they projected pictures of small green and red people= passes or doesn't pass (the picture was taken secretly).
Atara/ Bir Zeit:
Fear and tremble possessed the soldiers at the sight of a civilian car parked by the side of the besieged post. "It's very dangerous to wanders about at night around here… don't come near the post… I'm the post commander and when you approach it makes my soldiers jump…"- all this was said explained to us through the canvas covered fences. We could make out the persons voice without seeing his face, he insisted on telling us over and over again that this spot wasn't a checkpoint: "it's a post!".
Then another voice came out of the "post", it reported on the radio that: "the three aunts are standing outside…". Only once a military vehicle arrived was the gate opened, then a group of reserve soldier came carefully outside: one or two steps outside the fence. A bearded man was bossing them around and told his colleagues not to talk to us, he hushed down a curious soldiers who wanted to understand who we were and why we came there.
'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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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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