Qalandiya
The Security Guard Saves the Day
Only four of the five checking stations were operating when we arrived at 5:30 – and only 4 of the 12 lights were working in the shed. The woman soldier in the “Aquarium” repeatedly tried to get some message across to the people (perhaps that Station 5 was closed?). But because she shouted into the microphone in an angry tone, no one could understand a word of what she was saying (and we asked a number of people what she had said, because we thought she was shouting in Arabic). Finally we called the DCO line and asked them to contact her and suggest that she stop shouting, because nobody understands her. But that didn’t help either.
The lines this morning were not long (reaching to the kerb of the sidewalk before the first line of cars), and the rate of progress forward prevented them from growing any longer.
The problem today was the Humanitarian Gate, because quite a few people had begun gathering by it from 5:50 to 6:10. At 6:14, after we called the DCO line to ask whether there was an intention to open the gate, a security guard arrived with keys in hand. To our request that an announcement be made if the fifth checking station was closed (because people were lined up to enter it), he replied that it was now open but that there was a problem there (the turnstile leading in to it wasn’t working). And then, while still the only one on site, he took command: dragged a police barrier to block off the fourth station from the fifth (so that only people passing through the Humanitarian Gate could use the fifth station); opened a gate to enter into the fifth station; returned to the Humanitarian Gate, checked documents, and opened the gate for the considerable crowd waiting there.
We do not know whether he was operating under instructions or on his own initiative. Either way, we are impressed every time we see an action taken to ease the plight of the waiting to get through the checkpoint because we have passed so many hours of observing total apathy on the part of those in charge of the checkpoint toward the distress of the people forced to pass through it.
Only at 6:30 did the woman DCO responsible for operating the Humanitarian Gate arrive and begin working. (By the way, people who pass through the gate regularly have told us that she often arrives late on Tuesdays, for unknown reasons, and we have already written about this). At 6:40, that is, 10 minutes later, she declared the gate closed, told the people waiting by it to join the lines through the “cages,” and left.
A bit before that, we walked outside to congratulate the coffee man on his new arrangement, after his kiosk had been taken down. Now he has a kiosk on wheels, a van that looks similar to the food trucks so common on the streets of New York and other cities. And at the same opportunity, we saw a horse (without a bridle) sauntering through the parking lot. Later we read that the following day he had entered the shed. We hope that someone has taken command of settling his problem.
At 6:45 we joined the short line by the entrance to the left cage (the usually problematic one) and were out of the checkpoint within 10 minutes.
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 FleishmanMay-13-2025Qalandiya: Back-to-back procedure for transferring patients
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