Qalandiya
A particularly miserable morning at Qalandiya
When we arrived at 05:00 we could already hear the angry voices when we were still at the parking lot and saw hundreds of people sitting and walking around the covered waiting area. We saw immediately that only one of the five inspection booths was open, nor was it clear whether that one was operating or whether those on line at the revolving gates to enter the inspection area weren’t simply stuck there. We telephoned the humanitarian office/Qalandiya Operations Room to find out what was happening. The soldier on duty said only that “there was an incident and someone had been injured” (this was the day before Yehuda Glick was wounded next to Begin Center in the western part of the city). We said they should tell the hundreds of people waiting at the checkpoint when it would reopen but received no indication that was on their agenda. We then spoke briefly to the soldier in the aquarium who had a completely different version: there was a problem with the transport of the soldiers manning the stations, which is why they can’t open them. Later we saw sleeve number 1 was in fact open but only one open station is worth nothing at this hour of the morning.
At 05:30, as tension increased, and after an additional discussion with the Operations Room that led nowhere we telephoned Chana Barg, hoping she would succeed where we failed. The answer she received from the Operations Room was that only one of the five sleeves was open because of a “security incident.” What was strange is that during this entire time the checkpoint’s vehicle lanes operated normally. The “incident” (of which there’s no shortage in Jerusalem) affected only people crossing on foot, not on wheels. At 05:45 the remaining four sleeves opened simultaneously. Who knows what the real reason was for the 45 minute delay at this particularly sensitive hour of the morning.
The DCL officer arrived at 06:10 and opened the humanitarian gate for the large crowd waiting there, including men who certainly (based on their appearance) weren’t entitled to use it. The crowd was held in the inner courtyard near the gate while the officer inspected permits and sent back men who weren’t supposed to be there. There was great congestion at sleeve 5 (intended only for people going through the humanitarian gate) and it operated pretty slowly compared to the others. At 07:20 it closed and those waiting were sent to the lines at the cages, which were already shorter.
We left at 07:25, when the lines no longer extended beyond the cages.
Many people approached us during the two and one half hours, asking whether we knew what was going on, requesting we do all we can to fix things, and expressing their opinion that not opening the lanes was an example of collective punishment. Why shouldn’t they feel that way? No one bothered to explain to the hundreds of people on their way to work, school, hospital, etc., why they aren’t able to reach their destinations and when would the checkpoint operate normally. Simple, ugly contempt for this large crowd. Whoever thinks that will make the eastern part of the city quieter should think again.
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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