Qalandiya
In the beginning was the hill.
One day, Ehud Olmert, Mayor of Jerusalem at the time, thought up the idea that Israel’s capital needed a checkpoint resembling the one at Erez (bordering on the Gaza Strip). Thought and acted accordingly.
Heavy equipment was brought, bulldozers, drills, digging and boring into the bedrock, upturning the soil, shaving down the hill, turning it into a pile of rubble, flattening the ground and building a many-headed monster on it which the regime calls “terminal”, and he military – “Qalandiya crossing”.
Not a terminal, nor a crossing – this is Qalandiya Checkpoint. As Palestinians witness it – the worst of them all.
And now once again someone thought the idea that it is not enough, changes must be made. This time they are called “renovations”.
Once again heavy equipment was brought, bulldozers that drill and bore and turn the soil over and destroy infrastructure and tear up paved lanes and once again the place looks like a pile of rubble.
But its essence? That has not changed, nor will it.
The monster stays put behind the growing dirt piles and behind the scattered smashed rocks and among the concrete and metal barriers that transform pedestrian lanes. The monster stays put and – lawful and authorized – continues to make life unbearable for the humans who must enter its gates.
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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