Qalandiya
Nihaya and Suad, who live in Gaza, met at Al-Najah hospital in Nablus where they shared a room while being treated for cancer. Nhaya was accompanied by her sister. No one accompanied Suad. She came by herself. In the hospital the three of them became friends, family. Sisters in illness, sharing their fates. When they were released, with an appointment for the next treatment two weeks later, they rode together to the Qalandiya checkpoint, which is the only way to leave the West Bank and continue to Gaza.
After they’d overcome all the obstacles on the way to the DCL office – the locked metal gates, a lying soldier claiming the office had already closed and in any case they should have gone to the DCL in Ramallah, not here – and managed to arrive on time, and in particular after the DCL office had said [to me], “We treat everyone humanely and considerately…”, when it seemed the hardest part was already behind them, it turned out that it was just beginning. Nhaya and her sister received permits. Suad didn’t.
“You must speak to the Shabak man in Gaza. Come back tomorrow. Now [the time was 4 PM] we’re closing.”
A trace of optimism remained because it’s possible to speak to the Shabak man at the Erez crossing. They telephoned from the shed at the entrance to the checkpoint and spoke to him, who said there wasn’t any problem. Maybe they erred at Qalandiya? But there was a problem, a big problem. Because at the Qalandiya checkpoint, the final link in the chain issuing crossing permits, they said they’re closed, come back tomorrow.
When Suad lost hope she also lost consciousness.
As if there’s one army here at Qalandiya and different army at the Erez crossing.
As if there’s one muhabarat here at Qalandiya and a different muhabarat at the Erez crossing.
As if there’s one computer here at Qalandiya and a different computer at the Erez crossing.
As if there’s no telephone connection between Qalandiya and the Erez crossing.
At the checkpoint there was also a Red Crescent ambulance which a medical staffer said had brought “a very sick baby” from the West Bank. A year-and-a-half old baby who was transferred from one ambulance to another on the way to treatment at Hadassah hospital.
I was detained for one hour and fifty minutes (from 5:30 to 7:20 in the evening) at the Qalandiya police station. The charge: Disobeying a police officer. My prior detentions here and at other police stations didn’t make the experience any easier.
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 FleishmanOct-11-2026Qalandiya. Female Beggar
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