Qalandiya
Morning beginning quietly, becoming crowded
05.15 We parked in the parking-lot which was quite full. There was a long line of cars outside waiting to pass the vehicle checkpoint.
Inside, all 5 checking stations were open and there was no queue. The turnstile nearest the ‘aquarium’ (where the soldier operating the turnstiles sits) was open and people entered directly and advanced to one of the checking stations. Later, as a queue developed, the turnstile would close from time to time and finally 3 lines were formed, as usual.
The D.C.O. woman officer arrived at 5.30. At this point there were few people waiting. She photographed the (absence of) queues, greeted us, and left after a few minutes. The lines gradually got longer. It seems the work of the checking stations was particularly slow today. At about 6 o’clock the D.C.O. officer returned and began to open the Humanitarian Gate. She seemed to be less strict and sometimes just asked if a person had a permit, without demanding to see it – although, indeed, this applied to familiar faces. Later she was joined by a policewoman and a guard.
The slow checking continued, aggravated by the fact that now and again one of the stations would close altogether. Naturally, people got very angry, having to move from station to station. The D.C.O. officer and the policewoman spoke on the phone. We asked the soldier why the checking was so slow. She replied “we have dealt with this,” but we did not see any significant result. The queues were by now extending beyond the shed and well into the parking-lot. When we went outside to buy tea at the kiosk we had to cross three dense lines.
We noticed that, after passing through the turnstiles, people were not going through the zig-zag fenced path to reach the checking stations. The gate was open and they could go directly to wait at the stations. At one stage the policewoman and guard went in and we thought this was to close the gate, so that they could admit more people into the fenced path and relieve the queue outside. But they returned to their sterile area outside the aquarium and the gate remained open. The lines remained long. Only at about 7 o’clock did the queues get short enough to fit inside the shed. The D.C.O. officer left.
At about 7.20 the queues were short enough to fit inside the fenced corridors before the turnstiles. Older folk who had been waiting on benches because they are permitted to enter only at 8, got up and joined the short lines, and we left.
We drove to Jerusalem via A-Ram. The checkpoint next to A-Ram was manned, but most cars passed unchecked. We quickly reached Jerusalem through Hizme checkpoint.
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 FleishmanOct-11-2026Qalandiya. Female Beggar
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