Qalandiya
Anger and Despair at Qalandiya
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, hospitals, etc. Therefore traversing it, whether on foot or by vehicle, becomes a daily punishment.
The situation at the Qalandiya checkpoint has been deteriorating from week to week, and on 12.4.16 it reached a new nadir.
When we arrived at the checkpoint at 5:30 a.m., all five checking stations were open but the pace of progress was slow and the three lines leading into the “cages” already extended into the parking lot. We intended to follow one or two people at the end of lines to see how long it would take them to reach a checking station.
At 5:40 the lines collapsed into a mass of angry and impatient men divided into two camps: those who took out their frustration on one another by pushing and shouting at the entrance to the three “cages,” and those who distanced themselves from the melee (mostly older and/or wiser men) for fear of being physically harmed. Later on it also began to rain, which hardly encouraged the formation of lines, which would inevitably extend beyond the shed. Hence the situation within the shed continued to be one of crowding and anger until about 7:30, when the pressure began to lift and the rain let up, at least enabling the formation of lines again.
The Humanitarian Gate was opened at 6:30, after we had twice called the DCO, by the Civil Administration soldier who has acquired the nickname “Sleeping Beauty” among some of the locals, due to her penchant for turning up late. And this time, after sauntering in, she stood talking for another few minutes on her cell phone, in full view of the people who had been waiting for her arrival (in many cases, since 6:00 a.m.), as if to flaunt her contempt for them.
It must be said to her credit, however, that once she began working, she operated the gate with precision – and that under difficult conditions, because many men who were not entitled to go through it mixed into the crowd of women, children, professionals, and elderly men who are eligible to use it, in the hope of being allowed through so as to escape the mess in the rest of the shed.
At about 7:30, the soldier left. And when people lined up by the gate asked when she would return and whether or not the gate would be opened again, the security guard refused to speak with them. We called the DCO twice with the same questions, and the second time we were told that the gate would not be opened again. Asked what to do with the 62-year-old man on crutches who was standing by it, we were told that the DCO had no manpower available to open the gate and that he should go home. When we asked whether the policewoman on the spot could open the gate for him, we were told that that was against procedures.
Finally we requested that a standing order be issued to the DCO soldiers who operate the Humanitarian Gate that when they intend to close it for good, they should tell the people standing before it, and those who come after – as a common courtesy – that the gate is closed and there is no point in waiting any longer in front of it. We were told that our request would be passed on.
At 8:15, when the lines no longer extended beyond the “cages” themselves, we joined one of them, passed through the checking station, and left the checkpoint at 8:35.
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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