Qalandiya
05.15. Dark and cold, relatively few people on the Israeli side.
When we entered we faced long queues stretching far out of the shed. Apparently only 4 checking stations were open – station no.5 was closed. The beigel seller and the (new) cake seller were present.
The soldier in the aquarium waited until the lines at each checking station were practically ended before opening the turnstiles for a new group of people. This would usually happen only after the people in line would start shouting. At least he did allow in a large number of people each time, and passage at the checking stations seemed to go swiftly. As women arrived they were allowed to fit in at the entrance to the leftmost sleeve – this happens when there is relative calm.
Our friend H. told us about the groups who visit the bakery where he works in Mahane Yehuda, to see the ‘antique’ oven. Among them are groups of soldiers. As he speaks fluent Hebrew they do not realise that he is from the W.Bank. He showed us pictures of soldiers being photographed with him. He says his son also arrives every day to the checkpoint. They do not travel in the same taxi, though, because his son smokes and he doesn’t.
At a certain point and for some unclear reason, there was suddenly pressure at the entrance to the left sleeve, and the lines collapsed. Luckily, it took ‘only’ half an hour for them to re-form. After the soldier in the aquarium was relieved by another the turnstiles opened sparingly, until a guard and policeman arrived and gave instructions to open them and allow more people in.
Only at 6.20 did a D.C.O. soldier arrive, who opened the Humanitarian Gate, with the help of guards and the policeman. Now checking station no.5 also opened. We went outside to inspect. There seemed to be no progress on the building project. We bought tea at the modest kiosk which had by then opened.
A short while after the queues re-formed, they also became very short and we joined one at about 7 o’clock. We waited about 15 minutes for turnstiles to open and, when they did, we saw that the humanitarian gate had closed as there was no longer need. By the time the turnstiles were next opened there were no longer queues, and so they were left open.
It took us half an hour to pass to the Israel side.
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 FleishmanOct-11-2026Qalandiya. Female Beggar
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