Qalandiya, יום ב’ 2.2.09, אחה”צ
Natanya G. and Phyllis W.
Phyllis
reporting
14:45: A-Ram: There
were only a few cars in the CP — no pedestrians or detainees.
14:55: There was no line
of vehicles at Atarot — traffic was flowing freely.
15:00: When we reached Qalandiya
CP we counted 8 buses waiting in the northern square. Inside the
CP a huge crowd of people was waiting quietly – three full lines in
the northern shed as well as in the two active passageways (2 and 4),
about 200 people in all. We called the Humanitarian Hotline and
were answered by a soldier who promised that she would find out what
was happening. Just to be sure we also phone Mahdi, Commander
of Passageways, but were not surprised when he didn't answer.
We left him a detailed message. Just as we finished recording
our message, Mahdi sent us a short text message: "In a meeting",
so we texted back to him what was happening in the CP. In no time
he had answered, "Consider it done" and before we even managed
to say thanks another passageway was opened and the whole jam had begun
to move.
15:35: The lines had disappeared,
both in the northern shed and the internal passageways. We decided
to visit Atara CP and then return to Qalandiya. Although the traffic
on the road was quite heavy we experienced no delay in passing through
Lil CP.
16:00: Walking up the hill,
approaching Atara, we could see that there were no lines of vehicles
from any direction. When we arrived at the CP, one of the soldiers
approached us and politely asked that we stand on the side so as not
to interfere with the traffic. He positioned us inside the CP
and stayed to talk. It's been a long time since we met such a
friendly soldier. He told us of his unit's experiences in Gaza
and how, as a medic, he had taken care of Palestinian wounded as well.
He also said that his unit's officers meticulously explained to their
soldiers that Palestinians were to be treated politely. We saw
no problems at the CP while we were there. The soldiers didn't
interfere and the traffic flowed smoothly.
16:30 to
17:00: We returned to Qalandiya CP. Near Jaba we got
stuck in a long line of 40 cars at Lil CP that was slowly climbing up
the hill. It took us 15 minutes to reach the CP where two soldiers
told us that there was an incident of rock throwing and Molotov cocktails
up ahead. We understood that we couldn't continue and returned
to Jerusalem via Hizmeh CP.
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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