Qalandiya
In the “re-united” city, THERE and HERE are separate. In spite of their being both within the Jerusalem municipal area, the separation is prominent between ‘us’ and ‘them’, between places where infrastructures deserve steep investments, and others that do not, between areas where garbage is collected, and others where it is not, between places where rain water is drained, and others where it is not.
What began as a drizzle grew into heavy rain and graduated into rain mixed with hail that fell unceasingly. Within minutes, roads disappeared and were filled with water that rose and flowed, dark gray, dragging with it all sorts of filth.
Pedestrians, forced to get off the road and was alongside it, could not see potholes filled with water nor iron rods stuck in the asphalt. Women, not just one or two, tripped and fell, and had to be helped up by strangers.
A strong sense of survival and improvisation – the Palestinians’ forte – proved their worth in these hours as well, as they proceeded acrobat-like on parts of the wall, in plastic bags substituting for rainwear…
On my way back, at the checkpoint, I was detained by the inspecting woman-soldier and the security person standing near her post:
-Why?
-You’re a Jew, you are not allowed to be here.
-Where am I not allowed to be?
-In Ramallah.
I have no idea how long I stood there until the soldier who had taken my ID phoned wherever she did, gave me back my ID and I continued on my way, not before recommending the two to refresh their knowledge and check in the maps where Jews are allowed and where they are not.
On my way out, back to where infrastructure and rainwear drainage are a familiar phenomenon, it occurred to me that I don’t know how long I would have been detained, and whether a puddle had formed around the spot where I was ordered to wait, but neither this nor that are really important.
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 FleishmanJun-28-2026Qalandiya. The bridge leading from Jerusalem to the Qalandiya checkpoint
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