Qalandiya
Routine of Occupation
“May Day, the holiday of the workers,” one of the men waiting in line calls us over to point out to us, “and even today no one relates to the workers on their way to their jobs. We’re transparent today, too.”
Nevertheless, today was better than the previous two – including the collapse of line discipline and subsequent uproar – according to what a number of people tell us.
All five checking stations were open when we arrived at 5:30 but the progress into them was slow (though it improved in the course of the morning). Fortunately for the workers on their holiday, the lines did not extend very far beyond the entrance to the shed (meaning they were relative short). Nevertheless, at 6:00 we began following the progress of a man at the end of one of the lines, and it took him 40 minutes to reach the entrance to the checking station he had chosen.
A security guard arrived at 5:45 and opened the Humanitarian Gate. Two Civil Administration soldiers came later on and continued to operate the gate properly throughout the shift. This morning many families showed up, either for an outing, a family visit, or just a day of fun. Sometimes the guards separated the younger people with permits from their older relatives, who do not require permits but are not entitled to pass into Israel before 8:00 a.m. Those are the rules, holiday or not.
At 7:00 we joined the shortest of the lines passing through the cages and exited the checking station 25 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 FleishmanApr-26-2026Qalandiya. Things you see on the way
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