Qalandiya
All’s well that ends well
All five checking stations were open when we arrived at 5:30, and the lines were contained within the shed for the soldier in the Aquarium let the entire line through each time he opened the turnstiles. But then the soldier simply nodded off, the lines grew long, and it proved very difficult to wake him. Nevertheless, in a “joint action” together with the people on line, (meaning through their loud shouts and our banging on the bars with coins), we finally managed to awaken him, and the soldier did his best to rectify the situation by allowing many people through each time he opened the turnstiles. The situation temporarily deteriorated again after the 6 a.m. change of the guard, when the new soldier had difficulty opening the turnstiles. Only after the security guard took charge was the problem solved. Thereafter, for most of the morning, the lines never extended beyond the shed, and the pace of movement through the checking stations was satisfactory.
At 6:00 a DCO officer (whom we saw for the first time) and a soldier who appeared to be learning the procedures came out to operate the Humanitarian Gate. After checking the papers of the people waiting there, they opened the gate at 6:05 and thereafter each time a handful of people gathered before it. Much to their credit, they continued to operate the gate for women and elderly men even after the lines through the cages had shortened considerably.
At 6:55 we joined a line in one of the half empty cages were out of the checkpoint by 7:05.
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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