Qalandiya - A cold but brief morning
Only four of the five checking stations were open on this cold, foggy morning when we arrived at 5:30 a.m. but the lines were short and the soldier allowed people through the cages fairly frequently. About 10 minutes later the turnstile at the end of cage #1 stopped working. At first the people in the cage and on the line simply shouted for the soldier to open it but after a few tires they left the cage and joined the other two lines – causing a brief breakdown of the line discipline. While a Palestinian volunteer stood at the entrance to the middle cage to monitor that the newly formed lines would remain orderly, one of us stood at the opening to cage #1 to warn people that the turnstile was not working. We also called the DCO line to ask that the soldier in the Aquarium either open the turnstile (in case he had not been doing so) or announce that it is not operational, so that newcomers would not enter the cage. After about 10 minutes of this, the problematic turnstile began working again(!), people rushed into the cage and formed a third line, and the progress forward continued smoothly to the end of the shift.
The Humanitarian Gate opened at 6:19, while the lines through the cages were contained inside the shed and by 6:30 the lines were contained inside the cages.
At 6:45 we entered one of the empty cages, where the turnstile was left open to all newcomers, and were through the security check in 10 minutes.
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-26-2026Qalandiya. Things you see on the way
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