Qalandiya
A short but eventful morning
Five inspection stations were open and people went through an open turnstile from the hour of 5 AM, when we arrived, until 5:15, when the lines began to get long. The soldiers at the booths said that they could only let in people with a permit – which means that they wouldn't allow them in. The inspection sent back men and women over the ages of 50 and 55, who were allowed to go through without a permit. One of the women (who had already been in line since 5:00) left the line where they had rejected her, got into a different line, and seems to have gone through, because we didn't see her returning through the enclosure.
At the hour of 5:25, the turnstile at the entrance for line 2 stopped operating. As a result of this, long lines were created up to the parking lot. When we called the DCO to report about the problem, they hung up in our face. At 6:00, because of the long lines, we called to request that the responsible soldier for the Humanitarian Gate would come out. The soldier at the Hotline responded that he would ask the soldier if he wanted to come or not. But the DCO officer came out at 6:05and, after showing total indifference to the situation, he opened the gate 5 minutes later.
The lines began to shrink at 6:15 and, at about 6:30, the enclosures were empty and we left. We did not succeed in clarifying if the guidelines according to which the workers from the industrial area of Atarot will go through the checkpoint in buses is actually in operation now. We will try to ask next time.
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 FleishmanMay-13-2025Qalandiya: Back-to-back procedure for transferring patients
-
