Qalandiya
5:00 When we arrived there was already a long line and only three inspection windows were open. Within about 15 minutes, all five windows were open and workers went through the carousels quickly. Perhaps the reason for the efficiency was because of the two effective police people on duty: A policeman and policewoman who see as their duty not to harass or obstruct people from going to work, to study, to go for treatment at hospitals or to visit; rather to let people live their lives.
There were three incidents of blacklisting: one man who did not want to speak with us about his status; one who forgot his magnetic card and one who Ronny tried to help. This man had a valid permit to work but when he got to the inspection window, he was told that he was blacklisted. They would not tell him why. Ronny requested that the soldier on duty from the DCO find out why the man was not allowed to go to work, especially since he working for a company that was contracted by the army, but the soldier didn’t want to. Ronny stood her ground and insisted the soldier check. When the soldier finally called, he told us and the man himself that the man is indeed blacklisted but they refused to tell the soldier why. The man then had to wait until 9:00 in order to go to the DCO office at Qalandiya to find out why his permit was not accepted.
Only five people came to go through the Humanitarian Gate. At that point the line at the carousels was so short, we told these five people to go through the carousels.
6:30 Since there was no more line, we left.
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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