Qalandiya
Back to Routine
This was our first shift after the month of Ramadan and we more or less had the feeling of a return to routine. All five checking stations were open when we arrived at 5:30 a.m.; one of the cages was blocked (apparently because the turnstile was out of order, as was the case two weeks before); and the lines extended deep into the parking lot (meaning up to the fifth row of cars– which, by the way, were absent, as the entrance to the lot remained blocked and will likely stay that way until the conclusion of the renovations and paving of new roads). However, the soldier on duty “compensated” those waiting on the longer lines by allowing through a greater than usual number of people each time he opened the turnstiles. At 6:25 we began following two men at the end of the lines: it took them 25 minutes to pass through the turnstiles into the checking stations.
As the vehicle bringing soldiers and security guards from their base arrived late (we saw it come into the area), the officer in charge of the Humanitarian Gate did not arrive until 6:22 and immediately began checking the documents of those waiting by the gate and allowing them through. After opening the gate for the first lot of some 25 people, the officer continued to open the gate each time a number of people gathered in front of it.
At 7:00, when the cages emptied each time the turnstiles opened, we joined one of the lines and completed the security check 15 minutes later.
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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