Qalandiya
05.30. An unusually late state start due to roadworks on Route 1, and already after daybreak. There were lines extending a bit out of the shed, but every time the turnstiles opened, they came within the shed. All 5 checking stations were open.
We were surprised to find the tea kiosk had disappeared. The beigel seller was surprised, too. He said that yesterday it was still there.
Later we found it abandoned at the end of the parking lot. [Now we know that there is about to be building done in its usual spot, to enlarge the checkpoint. Meanwhile there is another family about to lose its source of income.]
Inside the shed it is relatively clean, though the number of benches decreases. Of the few that remain, one is already broken and lying on its side.
As the queues were short, women arriving could easily slip in from the side. Also sick people who approached the humanitarian gate were invited to fit into the regular line.
But we were told by our friend H. that previous days had been hard and that yesterday the lines collapsed. The pressure was such that he was wounded in his rib area, he has difficulty breathing and is afraid that he has a broken rib. We advised him to have it checked as it should be a work accident. He asked his employer, but how could he prove that he was hurt on the way to work and not at home?
He also complains that people speak to him rudely at his workplace, a bakery in the market. A tour guide brings her group to see their ancient oven. While she was speaking to him, a woman passing by scolded her for fraternizing with an Arab! On another occasion, someone complained that he was giving instructions to another worker – why should a Jew obey instructions from an Arab! ‘But I have been working there 30 years and he is new,’ says H., deeply insulted. H. is usually optimistic and smiling, speaking fluent Hebrew – but today he is despondent. He hurts – physically and emotionally. He says he is considering stopping to go out to work in Israel. We felt his hurt – and were ashamed….
At about 6 o’clock two guards arrived followed by a D.C.O. soldier. With their help he opened the humanitarian gate, which helped the regular lines which were anyway short. We left at 6.30, this time through the humanitarian gate so as to photograph the poppies that were flowering beyond the fence. A guard was alarmed, but relaxed when we assured him we were filming only flowers. He didn’t know what had happened to the kiosk.
Passage was quick, and thanks to the early hour, we reach city centre before the traffic jams.
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-27-2026Qalandiya: On the way to prayer
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