Qalandiya
Cold and Brief Morning
All five checking stations appear open when we arrive at 5:30 a.m. but upon further observation #3 has come to a temporary halt and then #4 allows people through via a gate, rather than the turnstile – with no apparent problem, incidentally. The lines reach to the edge of the sidewalk outside. It appears, throughout the morning, that fewer people than usual have come out to fight the cold today.
The bagel man, whom we ask about the situation on previous days, reminds us how we, too, have become inured to what we see at Qalandiya. When he asks us what we have to say about the lines this morning, and we reply that we have seen far worse, he scolds us for our complacency. And we deserve it! It’s as though if people have to stand in the cold only 30 minutes, rather than an hour, it’s a “good day.” After something of a hiatus, we have requests to take guests with us on an upcoming shift, and it’s important for us to see things through not-yet-calloused eyes.
At 6:10 a DCO officer arrives, opens the Humanitarian Gate, and opens it again for each individual who reaches it. All we can says is: Way to go! We wish everyone shared his understanding of how to operate the gate. At 6:50, when the lines through the cages are contained within the shed, the Humanitarian Gate is closed.
At 6:55, when the cages empty with each opening of the turnstiles, we get on line and exit the checkpoint in 15 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 FleishmanJul-21-2026Qalandiya. Conversation in the shadow of the wall
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