Qalandiya
One full working day between two closures.
05.15. We were greeted by a sight we haven’t seen for a long time at the Israel side of the shed – three lines of men in organized prayer, and inside, another 6 men praying together.
The three queues looked long – people told us that they reached the street. The soldier in the cubicle opened the turnstiles regularly and for reasonable times. Four checking stations worked all the time; the fifth did so intermittently, but kept open after announcing that only people without baggage could go through there.
By 6.15 there were about 20 people waiting at the humanitarian gate, including a woman with two small children. When Natanya phoned to ask why the gate was not yet open, she was rebuffed with a “Nu, do you think we are here to serve you?” such rudeness is unusual. Mostly we are told politely “We will check,” – which may happen… At any rate, independently of our phone call, a D.C.O. officer arrived a couple of minutes later, the gate opened at 6.20, and everyone there passed through. The soldier was later joined by another and a guard and the gate was still open when we left at 7.30.
A young man approached us. He told us that 2 days ago a guard ripped up his identity card. At about 9 a.m. he and four others were complaining about the delay, at which the guard, to show who was in charge, did this. The man said he replaced his card at the D.C.O. the same day. He wanted to lodge a complaint – as he said, the whole place is photographed and monitored – but had no actual witnesses. We advised him not to do so as this was likely only to cause him more trouble! He complained that he felt so humiliated by the experience.
By 7.30 the lines were extending just beyond the cages, and so we joined one. At the checking stations there were already women and older men waiting on the side, to cross at 8 a.m.
Three men, in turn, were turned back and told to go to lane 5, presumably to the D.C.O.
It took 20 minutes for us 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 FleishmanFeb-16-2026Qalandiya CP: shortcut
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