Qalandiya
The checkpoint was empty and the few people who had arrived were entering the four open (!!) sleeves when we arrived at 5:05. However, the checking was very slow in most of the sleeves, and soon long lines were forming. Moreover, we needed to wake up the soldier in the aquarium a few times (actually, we did not know if he was sleeping or not, but each time after the turnstile had opened he leaned his head on his hands on the table in front of him and therefore he did not notice that the lines at the entrances to the check posts were short or almost non-existent, so we made him raise his head and pay attention to what was happening in the sleeves.) The fifth check post opened at after 5:30, but the lines remained long – that is, they stretched out into the uncovered parking lot – until after 7:00.
The soldier from the DCO opened the humanitarian gate at 6:10 (when a group of 35 people was already waiting to pass through). He kept opening the gate each time the line at check post 5 enabled him to let people through.
A man, whose permit had been confiscated at the checking without explanation, asked for our help. Since there was nobody to talk to at the DCO at this hour, we suggested he go there at 9:00. We also gave him Sylvia's number, in case he would not succeed at the DCO. The man immediately tried to pass at check post 5 (and was sent back because of the hour). We were not sure he had understood our instructions (even though another person had helped us to translate). It might be that he was simply chocked and quite worried because of having lost his permit, which is quite understandable.
We left at 7:15 when the lines did not stretch out of the fenced off areas. We met the man again on his way out. He told us that he would wait until 9:00 to go to the DCO.
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 FleishmanNov-30-2025Qalandiya: Puddles and dirt after the rain
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