Qalandiya
The first rain always comes as a surprise.
On my way, when a black cloud spread itself above like a blanket and rain soon turned into hailstones and then again into rain, I thought I would go along with it somehow.
But in Qalandiya, when I reached the middle of the bridge, I realized I wasn’t getting along at all, and that the place where I was headed offered no shelter.
I did something I had never done before: I turned around, turned my camera down to the grey wet area below, and backed away.
Down there, near the bus stop, I spoke with the cab drivers. I heard about the violent, brutal conduct of policemen, the lack of toilets, the fact that months ago a three-door portable toilet was placed there and its doors are always locked. What to do when you need to relieve yourself? Hide behind a parked car, pee and take care not to be noticed by the policemen…
“Anyone caught peeing here is fined 450 NIS, but where are they supposed to go? Look at him!” Said the man and pointed at someone doing his business between a wall and a car. “He has diabetes. Where should he go?”
They also pointed at a boulder that was recently placed in order to block vehicles from approaching the bridge to pick up children going home.
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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