Qalandiya
An 'assal' (good) day, for no good reason…
5:25: As soon as we approached the Qalandiya CP we noticed that all the pedestrians passed through the left-hand pen freely and that passage through all five check-posts was relatively rapid. Thus the situation persisted and we left at 6:30. People greeted us and seemed to thank us for the situation – I wish we could have taken real credit…
A DCO soldier had arrived at 6:05 and stayed on duty 'just in case', although most people preferred to pass through the empty pens.We discussed with him the situation at the Jibb CP. He told us that as a result of our complaint the Matak enabled the dressshop women to cross over in vehicles. This of course does not solve the problem of the delays and crowding of the others crossing over here so we asked him to continue to prod the issue with his officers.
One of us stayed behind at the CP to await a delegation from the US Congress on their way to Ramalla. Regrettably, a J street connection informed us that due to an unexpected delay they would not be able to talk with us. A pity, as last time we were told that the briefing given at the CP was very impressive.
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 FleishmanJul-21-2026Qalandiya. Conversation in the shadow of the wall
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