Qalandiya
After the holiday we returned to Qalandiya. As far a I was concerned this was a return after over a month of absence for personal reasons. Qalandiya remained as it was, fences, turnstiles and more fences… The renovation – about which I learned from the reports of my friends – the toilets had been opened. On the two blue doors there are no signboards. On the right door it's written in white paint "men only" and on the left "women only". The men's toilets are locked so whoever needs to use toilets is obliged to enter the women's toilets. Inside there are two cells (no lavatory seats). The stench is horrible. No electricity and the sink is not attached to the faucet. We did not check whether there was flowing water in both toilet cells, the stench made us flee and we quickly shut the outer door.
What didn't exist in Qalandiya today were queues! On the Palestinian side at 5:15 all the posts were open and the passage of people flowed. Most of the time one of the three turnstiles at the edge of the enclosures was open. It seems they didn't open the two others because there was no need. The beigels and cake vendors were already here, and the coffee stand of Eyman too was already open. Birds were chirping energetically, and the people who arrived were happy to discover that there was no queue. Some greet us and hurry on. In the absence of a queue they have no reason to tarry.
At 5:30 a policeman arrived. He announced on the loudspeaker from time to time that all the five posts were open, and from time to time he directed the waiting people to the unoccupied posts. At 6:10 there were some more people, but still the passage flowed without obstacle. We followed with our eyes a man who was dressed conspicuously and saw that within 10 minutes he had completed the passage. No DCO soldier arrived and we wondered whether this was a mishap or whether he was just informed (or saw it in cameras) that there was no need to open the humanitarian passage. At approximately 6:15 a soldier and a policeman arrived and replaced the ones who were there before. By 6:30 we too passed quickly and returned to the city, hopeing that as long as the CP is there, the situation will always be like today's.
Qalandiya Checkpoint / Atarot Pass (Jerusalem)
See all reports for this place-
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
-