Qalandiya
When we reached the CP at 4 PM, we found 3 passageways in operation with very few people in each. No one was waiting in the DCO line nor was anyone visible in the DCO shed. Our friends at the CP entrance told us that nothing of interest had occurred during the day, but one of the peddlers did tell us about a fellow from Gaza who had accompanied his mother, confined to a wheel chair, to the CP to obtain a permit allowing them to travel back to Gaza. He said that they had had to wait 3 hours before the soldiers opened the “Humanitarian Gate” to allow them to enter the CP.
A bit after 4 PM we noticed an ambulance waiting near the northern square, but no ambulance had as yet arrived from Jerusalem. At 16:30 we saw the Jerusalem ambulance waiting in the parking lot while the Palestinian one had moved forward into the CP, but the soldiers were busy with other things and no one facilitated its passage. We stood by the fence, watching what was happening, although the soldiers shouted at us and tried to chase us away. A steady flow of cars traveling north was passing by us when several of the soldiers in the vehicle CP started screaming and running to block passage of one of the cars. The frightened driver got out of the car to speak with the soldiers, who continued to shout at him, as if he had tried to escape them or refused to obey their orders. The man in the passenger seat also looked quite upset. Little by little the soldiers calmed down and began to check the driver’s papers. In the end, the car and the driver and the passenger were released to continue on their way. Only then did the soldiers find the time to check the ambulance. At 4:45 PM the ambulance was still standing in the CP, i.e. the patient inside had already waited at the CP for 45 minutes. Needless to say, a person who needs an ambulance generally is also in need of rapid medical attention. But the ambulance in question had to wait another 5 minutes before being allowed to cross the CP and transfer its human cargo to its Jerusalem counterpart.
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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