Qalandiya
Surprise!
When we arrived at 5:30, we had steeled ourselves for crowds of people and considerable tension at the checkpoint on the first day after the week-long closure for Passover – and all for naught. No one came. Or, to be more exact, there was a trickle of people who immediately entered through the open turnstile at the end of the left-hand “cage.” Even when one and later a second of the five checking stations were closed, there was no build-up of lines entering the stations that would have caused the closing of the open turnstile in the shed and thus the creation of a standard line or lines there. A Reuters cameraman, who arrived with expectations similar to ours and was perplexed, ask where everyone was. We, in turn, asked the baigale seller, but he, too, had no explanation.
There was no need to operate the Humanitarian Gate. Nevertheless, the Civil Administration NCO came out at 6:15, took photographs of the empty shed, and left about 10 minutes later. At 6:30 we too passed through the open turnstile, passed through the security check within minutes, and left.
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 FleishmanOct-11-2026Qalandiya. Female Beggar
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