Hizma, Qalandiya
Everything starts well this morning. The parking fee is 10 NIS. (The parking lot is closed still.)
05:15 We arrive at the checkpoint. The line reaches the covered area. Only 3 check posts are open.
05:30 People are let into the fenced off areas for the first time since our arrival. The line hardly moves forward, people are waiting quietly. Calling the DCO does not help. The line reaches the parking lot.
05:38 A small number of people are let through to the check posts. We call the DCO again – "it won't help, so why call'.
05:41 The fenced off areas open for a relatively long time (for about a minute instead of a few seconds). All the people waiting for the line to move on start running towards the entrance. A crowd is gathering at the entrance to the fenced off area. When the turnstiles stop people start pushing and shouting. (See attached pictures and movie.)
05:45 All the people who do not want to push or shout are standing by the fence or sitting down. There is no line any longer, only shouts and confusion.
06:00 People are still pushing. A friend tells us that at this hour the buses bringing the workers to the Atarot Poultry Plant arrive, and that's why there is such pressure. The line reaches the parking lot. The line to the humanitarian gate is also long.
06:03 An officer and two security guards arrive. They do not understand what the problem is. The humanitarian gate opens (almost on time). Many people try to pass through, some without permits who are sent back to the regular line. We talk with many people. They ask us where the pictures will appear, if the intention is to change procedures at the checkpoint so that it will be easier to pass through. We wish, but probably not…One of the young men says he feels ashamed when we take pictures of them pushing. I say that I feel ashamed because we make them behave like that. Each one and his/her point of view. ..
06:15 People are still pushing in the fenced off areas. People keep joining the relatively long line to the Humanitarian gate.
06:25 It looks as if things have calmed down a little. The line reaches the end of the covered area, but many people are sitting on the side waiting until the worst pressure is over.
06:30 Children on their way to school also arrive at the humanitarian gate.
06:40 We leave. Crowds are still waiting to enter the fenced off areas. The line reaches the parking lot. The line to the humanitarian gate is still long. (The officer, a woman, and two security guards are standing and talking on the side.)
And what a line (!!!) at
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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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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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