Qalandiya
It’s crowded but quiet this morning at Qalandiya
When we arrived at approximately 05:30 three lines already stretched into the parking lot. We made our way into the shed through the people who were standing and saw that the three fenced corridors and five inspection booths were open. People stood quietly on line; we heard no yelling nor saw people shoving or climbing on the corridor fences. There was occasionally a disturbance when the revolving gate opened at one corridor but not at another, or when a long time passed before the revolving gates opened, but in general the line moved forward relatively calmly and in an orderly manner. A few women who’d arrived before the humanitarian gate opened went to the entrance to the fenced corridors; the men allowed them to enter when the revolving gate opened.
We saw someone photographing outside. Later he entered and came over to us. He’s from B’Tselem. We could hear cars honking outside at the vehicle crossing. Birds chirped within under the shed.
As the hour approached for opening the humanitarian gate at 06:00 a line of people began forming. At one point inspection booth number 5 closed, an officer and guard appeared, but the gate didn’t open and they walked back toward the DCO. Some people waiting, including a woman with a coughing infant, moved to the regular line. We called the DCO to report the humanitarian gate hadn’t opened. The officer and guard returned a few minutes later, the gate opened, but booth number 5 remained closed and people were sent to the others. Later the officer explained that the computers at booth 5 had crashed which is why they shut it and were late opening the gate. The officer let through a few groups of people who’d been waiting there, and together with the soldier in the corridor sent them to the available booths. People on the regular line, which had stopped advancing, expressed dissatisfaction. We saw no police this morning.
At one point the soldier decided that one of the men waiting in the corridor had threatened him (we didn’t see what happened; we noticed only because of the soldier’s reaction). The officer took the man’s ID, the soldier tried to reach someone by phone and then the officer told him to write down the man’s ID number and returned it to him. When the revolving gates opened again he went through with the others but we weren’t able to see whether they later detained him at the inspection booth.
At 06:45 the regular lines didn’t extend beyond the shed (they didn’t reach the parking lot); many still waited at the humanitarian gate. When the officer told them it wouldn’t reopen they moved to the regular line, but some returned to the humanitarian gate when more people had gathered there. When the revolving gates opened some went back to the regular line.
By 07:00 there was almost no line. We left and drove to join the line at the vehicle checkpoint. Only our IDs were checked and we crossed.
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
-
