Qalandiya
Whoever is born to undoubted freedom, finds it difficult, even impossible, to decipher the patience with which Palestinian society bears the daily humiliation and harassment it undergoes, and decide whether this is an expression of power or weakness.
And hour and some minutes of standing in place, of more and more people joining the crowded waiting lines, silently, without any shoving or shouting. Quiet speech, enigmatic patience and a macabre sense of humor.
Only one fellow summoned to meet his probation officer at 16:30 was worried he’d be late and lost it. He ran among the lines, “Let me go first, I’m in such a hurry” he begged, but the people’s good or bad will had nothing to do with the young man’s chances to get to his appointment on time. For they, the soldiers, who were inside, couldn’t give a goddam about us, standing outside.
When after an hour and some minutes the soldiers got back to their duties and the checkpoint was in operation again, and the people who crossed it boarded a muss headed for East Jerusalem, they were followed by Border Policemen who for 15 minutes conducted a careful repeated inspection of every single person and their IDs, and the Palestinians, patient yet again, some indifferent, some smiling as if saying “What can I do about this?” waited until the last BPmen 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 FleishmanNov-30-2025Qalandiya: Puddles and dirt after the rain
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