Qalandiya
A woman cancer patient was transferred according to protocol. Coordination papers were checked according to protocol. The IDs of the woman herself, her sister who accompanied her, and the medical teams were all checked according to protocol. The luggage of the cancer patient and her sister were inspected according to protocol.
Everything was done according to protocol.
The protocol was performed patiently, calmly, nothing was urgent, nothing drastic.
The security guards and soldiers whose word is law here took their time in such a non-urgent manner that we – two Red Crescent teams and myself – had ample time to have a conversation about what happens, and what had happened. Especially what had happened that very day at Deir Nizam village. Among them was an old acquaintance of mine who was alerted a few hours earlier to rescue those who were shot there by the army. “There was a kid there who was hit here by the bullet”, he said, meaning the boy who was murdered, and pointed his finger and pressed it to his throat, under his jaw. “This is where the bullet entered and from here it continued to his head. In Deir Nizam, like in Nabi Salah, they’re all Tamimis.”
Only at 16:30 did the cancer patients’ transport to the Gaza Strip final get on its way.
Seven and a half hours after the group of people – numbering eleven persons, women, men, the elderly and one toddler – were released in the morning from various hospitals and arrived at the checkpoint. All of them were very unwell, all of them needing to recover at home, in bed. They had to sit on the stiff metal benches and wait since 9 a.m.
“Chapeau to you at B’Tselem” (Israeli human rights organization) a man said to me and vanished into the transit.
Qalandiya Checkpoint / Atarot Pass (Jerusalem)
See all reports for this place-
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 FleishmanNov-30-2025Qalandiya: Puddles and dirt after the rain
-