Qalandiya
Short and easy morning
Four inspection booths were operating and there were lines in three out of four enclosures when we arrived at the Kalandia checkpoint at 5:05. The fifth booth opened at 5:12 and the soldier in the aquarium opened the turnstiles at the end of the enclosures frequently, so there wasn't a build-up of long lines. Once in a while the rest of the turnstiles were opened for new arrivals and the flow was pretty constant.
The DCO soldier arrived at 6:00, but didn't open the Humanitarian gate because the arrivals went straight into the empty enclosures. Nevertheless, he remained there, maybe to deal with the groups of travelers who start to arrive at 8:00. According to the type of trash at the checkpoint, one can surmise that groups of travelers go through daily). After 10 minutes, when we saw no problem with long lines and that people continued to enter straight into the inspection area, we left at 6;15.
According to this situation – in 2 successive shifts – we understand that the program to bring the workers from the Atarot industrial zone in buses through the vehicles checkpoint had begun. Next time, we will check this by a lookout over the vehicles checkpoint and also by talking with the DCO soldier or guards there.
Today, 7 out of the 10 lights in the waiting area were lit (a great improvement, but not clear why they couldn't have repaired all of them).
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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