Qalandiya
The Exception that Proves the Rule
Once again we note that the Qalandiya checkpoint is not built or equipped to handle the number of people who pass through it on a standard weekday morning on their day to work, school, in addition to hospitals, etc. Therefore traversing it, whether on foot or by vehicle, becomes a daily punishment.
When we arrived at the Qalandiya Checkpoint at 5:20 a.m. all five checking stations were open and the lines barely extended beyond the shed. The turnstiles at the end of each of the three “cages” opened often, so that long lines did not develop. But when we asked people on line about the two previous mornings, they said they had been awful – similar to the situation we had observed during the past two weeks, with lines extending deep into the parking lot. Everyone was pleased that this morning was a comparative easy one but they interpreted it as the exception that proves the rule about the Qalandiya checkpoint.
The Humanitarian Gate was not opened at all because the powers be decided that it was not necessary due to the relatively light traffic through the checkpoint. There did not seem to be any explanation for the lighter traffic today – though one of the men on line suggested, only half in jest, that after the previous two terrible mornings, people simply despaired of the ordeal of getting through the checkpoint and stayed home.
It’s interesting to note that despite their refusal to open the Humanitarian Gate, at about 6:30 we counted no fewer than eight people gathered in the “Aquarium”: two soldiers (one being the DCO officer in charge of opening the gate), two security guards, and four policemen. It seemed a shame to get them out of bed so early in the morning merely to socialize in that crowded enclosure.
At 6:35, when the cages had emptied, we went through one of the checking stations and left.
Two observations:
One of us recalled seeing a report on the TV news recently that building contractors are complaining about the conditions at the checkpoints because their Palestinian workers arrive at work tired and grumpy after the daily ordeal of getting through them. It’s about time someone noticed this. For years we have been advising workers going through Qalandiya to ask their employers to complain about the conditions at the checkpoint (which have only grown worse with the otherwise welcome rise in permits being issued). Apparently some of these employers have finally woken up to the situation.
Also, this morning we parked on the southern (“Israeli,” so to speak) side of the checkpoint because in the past few weeks the traffic jam both leading to the vehicle checkpoint at Qalandiya and to the Hizma checkpoint has been particularly intolerable. Last week it took us (separately) two hours from Qalandiya to Tel Aviv (and that using the “fast lane” on Route 1)) and to Rehovot, most of the time stuck in the traffic jam on the Hizma road and in Pisgat Zeev.
About a year ago we saw a Civil Administration blueprint to solve the legendary traffic jam at the Qalandiya checkpoint. But the only thing we have seen on the ground is – surprise! — the beginning of work to widen the Hizma road, namely, the Qalandiya bypass road used by settlers traveling on Route 60 from the central and northern West Bank to Jerusalem.
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 FleishmanJul-21-2026Qalandiya. Conversation in the shadow of the wall
-
