Qalandiya, יום ה’ 4.9.08, אחה”צ
Ramadan
Qalandiya 16:00 we
arrived.There were two
positions open. Tens of people were
waiting and the passage was slow despite the fact that there were relatively few
people waiting. It ook over 50 minutes
to pass through the checkpoint. It was
hot and stifling. A nervous woman
soldier was shouting “Carousel, one by one”.
The i.d.’s of several
people were taken even before they passed through the turnstiles. One was called, one who was able to go
through. The movement was slow with the
soldier continuing to call “one, one, carousel – what, do you want a pillow so
that you can lean on it in the carousel”. Three high school students from the American School in Ramallah were waiting. They allowed one of them, a sixteen year old,
to cross since she had an i.d. The two
others who were 15 and didn’t have i.d.’s but rather birth certificates. The
mother of one of them was waiting on the Israel
side. We contacted the district command
and were answered by Alona who said that it was not her job to assist but rather
to give orders. The girls returned to
Ramallah.
A man, who was in his
60’s, a Palestinian with an Israeli court order saying that he should not be
deported from Israel was not allowed to cross through one of the inspection
lines. According to him, he presents the
order every day and with it, is able to cross into Israel. He went to a different post and was allowed
to pass.
The shouting soldier
yelled at a young boy who was wandering about among the people at the checkpoint
selling pages from the Koran and was told to go home.
An elderly couple
with green i.d.’s tried to cross but were not allowed to and went back. We passed through the checkpoint. When Soli asked the soldier not to shout, she
was responded to with a hand motion indicating that she should get away from
there. Afterwards, I crossed and when I
showed her my i.d., the soldier said “You whore”. In answer to my question as to why she was
speaking that way to me, she answered with a grin an movements for me to get out
of her sight. The second turnstile was
closed for a few minutes so that we would not be allowed to cross through and
was then reopened.
17:50 We left.
There were just a few people and vehicles still waiting but passage was
still slow
.
Qalandiya Checkpoint / Atarot Pass (Jerusalem)
See all reports for this place-
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 FleishmanApr-16-2025Qalandiya: summer fruit
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