Qalandiya
A Black Day at Qalandiya
Somebody, somewhere, "made a mistake" and tens if not hundreds of work permits were confiscated from the Palestinians. Consequently, the "dangerous" persons had to be separated from the "not dangerous" ones, a task just as complicated as the Entebbe raid. Hundreds of people turned to us to complain and to ask for help – but what could we do? The Palestinians couldn't control their fury and frustration and neither could I. Never before, since I started visiting the checkpoint at Qalandiya many years ago, had I been scared, but now there were moments when I was afraid. I felt as if I was choking!
04:00 Many pedestrians from the direction of road 443 managed to cross the moment the checkpoint opened. The line reached the edge of the roofed area, but it took only 20 minutes to cross. There was hot coffee and bagel and everything looked like any other day at Qalandiya.
05:00 The line was longer and those whose permits had been confiscated began to appear. I thought there were just a few people and wrote down their ID numbers. After fifteen minutes I realized that the number of people was so large that it was useless to collect their ID cards.
05:30 The guests arrived and they became the focus of attention. Only after 45 minutes, did those who had not been let through, appear. They pushed the guests a little to the side to "attack" me. The fury and frustration almost caused me a "heart attack".
06:15 The rude lady from the DCO arrived: "Get out of here, you're interfering, go to your friends, I'll call the police, don't try to teach me my job." The security guard, who wanted to be part of the action, interrupted her using such an offensive language that she seemed almost polite compared to him. The policeman who evidently knew me advised them "to leave her alone because she's dangerous" – so if you didn't know that I'm dangerous, now you do! There is proof, the policeman said so.
We stayed at Qalandiya until 8 o'clock. My guests managed to talk with some of the people waiting in the fenced-off areas, but they were interrupted each time the turnstile opened. Once in a while, it's good to see what Qalandiya looks like, and what the occupation looks like to people who are exposed to the atrocities for the first time.
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 FleishmanFeb-27-2026Qalandiya: On the way to prayer
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