Qalandiya
Relaxed morning and a lot of dirt at Qalandiya CP
We arrived to the Machsom around 5:15 after parking on the Israeli side. We found an empty machsom. 5 checking points open with few people awaiting. No lines and the carousel at the end of the 3rd terminal , close to the aquarium where a soldier is sitting, open. Whoever arrives crosses right away. Later on when more people arrived, the carousel was closed from time to time and an additional carousel was opened. But all in all it was quiet and calm with no lines at any point.
At 5:40 a policeman arrived and around 6:00 an officer from the DCO arrived. We haven't seen him before but it seems he knows everybody. He was left wit no work as there was no need for the humanitarian gate.
A young man with a blue ID from east Jerusalem approached us. He wished to go to the beach with his friend who got a permit until today. Since he tried to enter before 8:00 the permit was taken away from him and was torn. We couldn't understand if the permit was taken today or another day. The guy who spoke with us already crossed to the Israeli side but came back to the mahcsom and joined his friend. He approached the policeman and the officer but to no avail. "What should we do" he asked and the policeman answered: "the holiday is over, go home". The men left disappointed. A dream to visit the beach has gone away. Maybe next year…
At 6:30 we were back at the Israeli side where we say a person sweeping the sidewalks. Hopefully next week the machsom will be cleaner.
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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