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Qalandiya
Observers: Tamar Fleishman; Translator: Judith Green
The Woman's Day
About 1000 Palestinian women marched from Ramallah to the checkpoint, carrying in their hands Palestinian flags, posters and pictures of family members who had been killed by the IDF.
The checkpoint was closed, it gates locked and it seemed as though the IDF was going to be able to allow the demonstration. But it only seemed that way, maybe just a hope and maybe an illusion.
When the women arrived at the fence of the checkpoint and touched it and waved the flags and called out slogans for freedom from the yoke of occupation and for freedom, the soldiers and police stood on the other side and one could see they were nervous and impatient. Someone dared to hang a Palestinian flag on the wire fence. Like a genie freed from the bottle, like a standing bull with the red flag waved before his eyes, the flag was grabbed and trampled under the soldiers' feet and their officer shouted, "Friends, every flag will be answered with pepper!" So he said, and kept his word.
And then – The soldiers broke through the checkpoint and shot wildly into the huge crowd of women moving towards the openings.
The soldiers fired and the police fired and also the military vehicle and the women were injured and fell shedding tears and choking and were gathered up by ambulances and taken from there and kids starting throwing stones and the soldiers increased their fire and the gas spread and filled the whole place and…
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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