Qalandiya
A cold, crowded morning. The humanitarian gate opened late and closed early.
After a month’s absence, due to holidays and light illnesses, we returned to a freezingly cold Qalandiya. Coming from the Israeli side, we saw that the final turnstile for those coming through from the Palestinian side, was closed. This is a turnstile that we do not normally ‘count’ because it is always open. Today, as it was closed, a number of people had accumulated behind it, wanting to get out. Soon a security guard arrived and opened it. It is unclear why it was closed in the first place.
At 5.15 the lines were already long, stretching into the parking lot. 5 checking stations were open and when the turnstiles were opened the lines fitted within the shed. The kiosk was not yet open, the beigel seller was deep in prayer. Soon, however, the lines once again got long, and reached the parking lot. Towards 6 a.m. many people had gathered at the humanitarian gate. A policeman who had arrived at 5.30, left at 6.
The blonde D.C.O. officer arrived only at 6.15 to open the gate, followed soon after by a policewoman and two guards. We went to warm ourselves with a cup of tea. When we returned we were surprised to see that the D.C.O. officer left at about 6.45, although there were queues at the gate. The guards also left. The soldier and policewoman were inside the aquarium, probably enjoying the shelter from the cold. The policewoman stood with her back to us, watched the checking stations and gave instructions to the soldier when to open the turnstiles. In addition, they struggled with an electrical fault which caused the lights in the aquarium to go out intermittently. As a result, every time people came to the humanitarian gate, there was no one to pay attention to them, or to open it.
An elderly couple, the man on a stick and wearing a mask (apparently a cancer patient), asked for our help. They had to reach a hospital and couldn’t join the crush in the cages. Usually the police open the gate especially in such cases, even when the D.C.O. officer isn’t present. We tried in vain to get the attention of the policewoman. We phoned the official phone number but got a sound showing the line was disconnected. The couple despaired and joined the regular line and the people there allowed them to fit in. Meanwhile, too, a woman arrived with a baby. After a long while the policewoman finally came out of the aquarium and noticed them. She said she didn’t have a key to the gate, and told the woman to join the regular queue at the entrance to the cage. She then told the soldier to open the turnstile and keep it open until the woman and baby had passed. From the other two queues people called out to open their turnstiles, too, but she explained that she was opening only for the sake of the baby.
By about 7.15 the lines were shorter and we joined one of them. It took 30 minutes to pass through
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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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