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Qalandiya
Observers: Tamar Fleishman, Judith Green (translator)
For an hour and a quarter I stood with the men and women opposite the locked gate near the DCO. An hour and a half of strained nerves for me and the anguish of despair for them. There is a name for every man and every man bears on his shoulders a bundle of suffering and holds in his hand a bundle of documents without which he does not exist. They arrive here armed with patience.
Also Adham, 5 years old, who is accompanying his father, sat for hours and waited patiently. Only I, who came from a different place, was impatient. When the clock read 4:10, and the work day of those sitting in their offices came close to its end, did the gate open. Then, like a heart on fire, the anger burst out. But this impulsive outburst was not aimed at those responsible for the situation. The Palestinians, whose mentality has been configured by the occupation for decades, learned that it is better to behave submissively towards those who are ruling. They, who have been in crowded conditions for long hours, with a cry or a protest, next to the iron bars, began to shout and push and curse one another. The surface reason was to get ahead in line. The women moved away from the bellicose men's group and I left, in order not to see them in this sorry state.
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-16-2025Qalandiya: summer fruit
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