Atarot, Qalandiya, Thu 10.1.08, Morning
7. 20 Atarot
Three trucks are stopped but are whisked through
as are we.
7. 25 Qalandiya
It is the second day of Bush's visit, a foggy and
cold morning.
We expected to find a closure but rhere was not a
full closure. A man coming out of the CP is boiling with rage, he had to wait
for half an hour as he has everyday – how can there be peace? Another one stops
us with a complaint about the attitude of the soldiers.
At the CP itself five entrances are open and it
takes about 10 minutes for people to pass. There is closure except for people
who work in Atarot whose age is 30+
and are married with children. Three young men, whose pay day is today
were waiting around hoping against hope to pass. Another man has been turned
down twice for no apparent reason, then was let through.
Emotions were running high today. A teacher
got into a heated argument with the soldier for detaining him arbitrarily (we
did not see the beginning of the incident). He was quite assertive and when
threatened that a policeman will be called in, welcomed the idea. A policeman
did come and the matter was turned for an investigation which we could not
observe.
Another man burst at another soldier
(both of these soldiers were women) that after taking off his shoes, his jacket
and his belt (since the monitor beeped), she stopped him and did not let him
pass. "what kind of people you place here?" he asked turning to us. Luckily the
soldier climbed down the tree and let him pass.
The crowd dwindled down and we left.
'Atarot
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Atarot
Atarot was a workers' settlement destroyed during the War of Independence, where the Arab village of Qalandiya now stands, in the southwestern part of Atarot Airport, built by the British Mandate. After 1967, the Atarot industrial zone was established nearby, and until the completion of the wall from the Qalandiya checkpoint to Road 443, a checkpoint was in place. A new Jewish neighborhood is currently planned for the old airport area.
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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 FleishmanNov-30-2025Qalandiya: Puddles and dirt after the rain
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