Qalandiya
As we drove up to Qalandiya we saw 3 ambulances standing in the bus parking lot south of the CP. Natanya got out of the car to see what was happening while I continued to the northern parking lot. As I passed through the CP I saw a fourth ambulance waiting on the sidelines to be examined by the soldiers.
The CP itself was practically empty. Two passageways were operating. As far as we could see, no one was waiting in the DCO shed. About 10 laborers were sitting and waiting for transportation home in the CP's northern shed. The line of bus passengers, in the western CP passageway, was moving fast and we could see no problems.
After surveying the CP, I saw that the 4th ambulance was still waiting in the vehicle CP. Natanya said that the drivers waiting for its arrival on the Jerusalem side of the CP told her that there was no "coordination". I phoned the coordination hotline and the soldier who answered said that he was working on release of the ambulance. About 5 minutes later the ambulance was called into the vehicle CP and, after a short examination, released into the parking lot. Natanya, who accompanied the procedure from close up, said that the (female) soldier in charge of the process was very polite and efficient. A problem arose with the first set of ambulances when the patient being transferred insisted on taking a large sack of some unidentified greens with him to hospital. It turned out that the greens were for making tea to treat the cancer from which he was suffering and he was allowed to take his sack with him. The patient in the second set of ambulances was also suffering from cancer – a young boy of about 14-16 from Jenin, on his way to Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital accompanied by his older brother.
Nothing else of special interest occurred during our shift. We left Qalandiya at 5 PM.
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 FleishmanJun-28-2026Qalandiya. The bridge leading from Jerusalem to the Qalandiya checkpoint
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