Qalandiya
05.15. We parked on the Israeli side, where there were already many people waiting for their transport. On the Palestinian side there were already long lines extending beyond the shed. Only 4 of the 5 checking stations were open. The kiosk was open and the beigel seller was at his post. At one point the soldier inside his cubicle peeped outside, but could not explain why the fifth station was not open, nor did a phone-call to headquarters help. Soon after 5.30 a policeman arrived. According to him the fifth station had not opened because of a shortage of soldiers. At about 5.40 it finally opened. And then the policeman surprised us by calling to the women in the queues and opened the humanitarian gate for them.
Soon after 6 a.m. the D.C.O. officer arrived with a security guard. She now opened the gate for “permitted” men as well. She was polite but firm, not allowing anyone through who was not entitled – for instance, an elderly couple who were on their way to the hospital had to wait until 8 o’clock.
When we went out to buy a cup of tea, we found a new man working there. He said the brothers Iman and Muhammad no longer work there. Why, we don’t know. He worked alone and because of the crowds in the queues he could not go through to fetch water to fill his boiler. Finally someone in the line offered to go and fetch him water in plastic bottles.
Older people who go to work and are allowed to work without a permit complained to us that they are not allowed to pass through early in the morning. One claimed that at other checkpoints (Bethlehem, Eyal), this is allowed. We asked the policeman about this. According to him, this place is not organized to allow so many people to pass at peak hours and so the early hours are designated for permit-holders. If they allowed these older workers also to come so early the pressure would be even greater….
At about 7 a.m., when the pressure lessened and the queues were shorter (i.e, were now within the shed), we joined one of the lines. Although the lines were now shorter, the D.C.O. officer continued to open the humanitarian gate. At this point there was also a policewoman on duty. And in spite of the reduced pressure, it still took us 25 minutes to pass.
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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