Qalandiya
A cold, wet, short morning
All five checking stations were operating when we arrived at 5:30 on this cold and wet morning. The lines via the cages were contained within the shed and were likewise short before the entrances to the checking stations themselves. The soldier on duty responsible for regulating the flow through the cages took care to erase the lines almost every time she opened the turnstiles. We had the distinct impression that, in addition to the intelligent management of the flow, fewer people than usual came to the pedestrian checkpoint today, perhaps because of the bad weather than only threatened to become worse. At all events, the lines remain contained within the shed throughout the morning.
We were glad to see that the piece of metal sticking up from the floor in the middle of the shed (the remains of a bench), which we reported on last week as a threat to life and limb, was removed!
A DCO officer entered the checkpoint to operate the Humanitarian Gate at 6:10, and when he saw that there was no demand for the gate, he left at 6:15. A few minutes later a couple entered with the wife carrying an infant in her arms. Fortunately, the DCO officer had left a key to the gate with one of the security guards (a very wise and laudable decision!), and the guard opened the gate for the couple. But when others who are eligible to use the Humanitarian Gate tried to follow them through, the security guard sent them back to the lines through the cages. A bit later, people who had just arrived at the checkpoint began gathering in front of the gate, and the same guard walked past them without relating to them at all. With a hand movement, we redirected the guard’s attention to the group waiting by the gate, and he walked back to inform them that the gate was closed and directed them to the lines through the cages. And what would have happened had we not been there to demand, as it were, that the guard do the minimum and relate to the people expecting to go through the gate so that they would not stand there wasting their time in vain?
When the cages were all but empty, at 6:45 we too went through one of them and exited the checkpoint a little over 10 minutes later. There was a short hold up because the soldiers in the checking station initially seemed puzzled by the diplomatic passport presented them by our guest, but they related to its holder courteously.
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 FleishmanJul-21-2026Qalandiya. Conversation in the shadow of the wall
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