Qalandiya
Recipe for Disaster
Only three of the five checking stations were open when we arrived at 5:30. The lines were long (half way to the road) and the progress forward agonizingly slow. No matter how you look at it, this is a recipe for disaster. And on top of it all, the soldier responsible for operating the turnstiles at the end of the three “cages” opened them only one at a time, and did not always open all three in succession, which naturally heightened the tension and anger of the people waiting on line. We immediately called the DCO line to ask that someone call the soldier and brief her on how to operate the turnstiles properly — that is, all three at once — and eventually that message got through. But for the meanwhile, two of the checking stations remained closed, one of them until 6:15. And by then, of course, the damage had already been done, in a big way.
At 6:00 we walked outside to observe how the changes in the lanes leading into the vehicle checkpoint (among other things, the removal of a small island that had always managed to create chaos) affected the flow of traffic. While we were standing there, at 6:08, the lines into the pedestrian checkpoint collapsed and immediately gave way to the familiar and despairing scene of the frustrated crowds pushing their way into the narrow “cages” and being squashed inside them.
As for the vehicles, the change in the lane leading into the checkpoint has definitely improved the flow of traffic and is worthy of kudos. It’s amazing how simple a change (destroying that island) has had such a major effect — and how long it took to make it. Last year tear gas was used (!) to break up the traffic jam by that spot.
Also, what we described in an earlier report as a traffic circle in a road yet to be paved through what used to be the parking lot of the pedestrian checkpoint now seems more like an area for buses to stop and then return in the direction from which they came after discharging their passengers.
While the melee continued at the entrances to the cages, the Humanitarian Gate was opened at 6:20, to the crowd that had begun gathering by it since 6:00, and was operated smoothly until close to 8:00.
Starting at 6:30, we could see attempts to re-form the lines, although the crush at the entrance to the cages continued. We joined one of these at 7:10 and waited in line for an hour, most of the time in conversation with one of the men standing alongside us, before reaching the checking station and traversing it without incident.
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 FleishmanFeb-27-2026Qalandiya: On the way to prayer
-