Qalandiya
A ‘reasonable’ day at Qalandiya.
05.15. A cold morning, still dark, with a strong wind – but on the Israeli side there were already many people waiting for transport. Usually on such cold days, people light little fires, but today it would be too dangerous. Instead they crouch inside their jackets or sweatshirts.
On the Palestinian side there were already queues stretching out of the shed, but each time the turnstiles were opened the lines shortened considerably. 5 checking stations were open. From time to time the lines extended slightly beyond the shed. The kiosk was open and the beigel seller was there. At 5.30 a policeman joined the soldier in the aquarium.
A little before 6 a.m. two D.C.O. soldiers arrived and immediately started opening the humanitarian gate where there were already people waiting. After opening the gate, one approached the soldier in the aquarium to ask him to open the turnstile beyond the gate. The soldier and the policeman hadn’t notice the D.C.O. arrival (before the appointed time!!), and the policeman was surprised that they had opened the gate without protection. But soon a security guard arrived, and then another…
After buying tea to warm ourselves, we found inside an elderly man in a kefiyeh sitting on a bench. We had seen him in a line earlier, and asked him what had happened. Apparently he works without a permit because of his age, and was told to wait until 8 o’clock. He complained (and this is not for the first time) that it’s only at this checkpoint that older people working without permits have to wait. In the past we did ask a policeman about this and he said that it was because of the particularly large number of people using this checkpoint.
Last week we noticed two special cameras on tall posts. We were told that these were cameras of the ministry of transport, in order to measure the load and to plan enlarging the checkpoint. We wonder why one needs special cameras, instead of getting data from the numerous cameras that are anyway there in the checkpoint…
At about 7 a.m. the lines were much shorter, inside the shed. We joined one at 7.20. Progress in the line was rather slow. After we passed the turnstile – it was already after 7.30 – we noticed that the policeman caught elderly folk who had joined the regular line and sent them back to wait till 8 . As a rule, soon after 7, when there is no pressure, older people get up and join the regular line. In the past we have never seen a policeman oppose this, and usually even the soldiers inside the checking stations let them through. In addition, next to the turnstile leading to the checking station we met a man who was prevented from passing, waiting till 8 o’clock….
Passage was pretty slow, taking us 35 minutes today.
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 FleishmanApr-12-2026Qalandiya. Abdallah at his fruit stand
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