Qalandiya
A very crowded morning, lines collapsing totally.
05.15. Groups of men at prayer at the parking-lot and at the entrance to the checkpoint. Long lines inside, extending beyond the shed. The neon lights seem to have been renewed, but not the one near the exit, where the beigel-seller stands! Groups of men leave the queue to pray and then return to their places.
All 5 checking stations were open and speed was ‘reasonable’, and each time the turnstiles were opened a large number of people could pass. On the whole women were allowed to join at the entrance to the cage. Now and again one of the checking stations would close, and at one stage there was an announcement that at one station only people without bags and packages could pass. Yet at 5.50 the lines completely collapsed. It took one and a half hours (!) until orderly queues were formed again. During this time there were attempts to re-form lines, but every time the turnstiles opened, there would be a mad rush towards the cage entrance, with the resulting collapse.
Fortunately, the humanitarian gate opened early today. Shortly before 6, a guard arrived and, without waiting for a D.C.O. officer, he began to arrange to open the gate. The D.C.O. man arrived soon after and joined him. The gate remained open until 7.45.
Meanwhile, we wandered around in the shed and outside, chatted with people and bought tea at the kiosk which is once again supervised by Aiman, who has recently been running the ‘parking’lot’ next to what was previously the organized parking-lot of the checkpoint.
Only a little before 8 o’clock had the lines become short enough for us to join one. It took under half an hour to pass.
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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