Qalandiya
A difficult morning at Qalandiya. The humanitarian lane opened late and only briefly, although many security personnel were present there.
5:15: We parked on the Israeli side and walked through. It was still dark and cold. Outside the crowd was loud – many people and vehicles, particularly buses and transits from East Jerusalem. The five checking posts were functioning and the lines were spilling over into the parking area. At this stage, women were still able to join in the lines to the pens. But the pushing intensified and we were worried of the possibility that the lines would collapse.
5:45: Indeed, that's what happened! Instead of three orderly lines at the entrance to the pens we had a mob of people pushing and climbing over one another. Older and more careful folks retreated into the background. Some realized that their workday was already ruined. The womenfolk didn't even attempt to join the lines. Some walked over to the humanitarian post but a policeman who had just arrived announced that it wouldn't open. Then he said he'd try to find out.
6:00: The humanitarian lane, due to open at 6, opened at 6:35, after some more personnel had arrived: two policemen, a soldier, two-three security persons. We phoned some three times but don't know to what avail. And finally at 6:35, the two Matak officers that had arrived to open the gate, began checking with the policemen the validity of those carrying the required permits. We overheard the girl soldier explaining that passage through the humanitarian gate was only possible for a sick person with an authorization. She also instructed the soldier in the aquarium when to open and close the turnstiles. Gradually three lines began to take shape again.
We took a tea break at A's kiosk and observed the heavy traffic at the square. Returning at 7:00 it was all calm, merely three long lines proceeding. The two Matak people had left but the police staff occasionally made use of the humanitarian passage. At 7:10 they announced that it wouldn't open further.
At 7:15 we joined the line and it took us 25 minutes to pass through.
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 FleishmanMay-13-2025Qalandiya: Back-to-back procedure for transferring patients
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