Qalandiya
5:00: Arriving on a chilly morning, there already was a long line.
Two women from the Ecumenical group were there, assessing the duration of passage during these past two hours – approximately 40 minutes they reported.
5:25: Five checking booths were operating. In the past all five checking-booths were opened at 4:00 – when most of the workmen would arrive. There also was a period when only three booths had been opened at 4:00 and the two others at 5:00. And now – the two others at 5:30?
The humanitarian gate was opened at 6:25. The officer had indeed arrived at 6:05, saw merely two persons waiting and left. When he returned we reminded him that the Humanitarian gate was supposed to be open 24 hours but he responded that it wasn't worth the effort for the two persons that had been waiting, who weren't sick at all.
Obviously, there was no consideration for the plight of people wishing to pass through on these cold mornings and the need to shorten the duration of passage – all five booths need to be opened by 4:00.
Between 4:30 to 5:00, we noted that 500 persons had crossed through – they had already been there at 4:00, in front of the closed checking booths.
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 FleishmanMay-13-2025Qalandiya: Back-to-back procedure for transferring patients
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