Qalandiya - A continuous malfunction in one of the turnstiles leaves only two entrances, long lines and people complaining
05.15. Dark and cold. Five checking stations were open most of the time, but the queues reached well beyond the shed. However, speed seemed reasonable. The beigel seller sat outside.
The turnstile furthest from the soldier’s cubicle is still blocked, and so there are only 2 lines – which are long, as a result People complain that it is already more than a week that the turnstile has been out of order.
After 6 a.m. a crowd begins to gather at the humanitarian gate. Outside we heard a persistent siren, so we went outside to look. At first we did not notice anything unusual. Afterwards we saw an ambulance rushing from the direction of Ramallah towards A-Ram. Beyond the square that leads to Qalandiya, it was free of the traffic jam and could proceed without a siren.
On the way back we bought tea at the kiosk. The beigel seller by now regretted sitting outside as it was cold.. (He had decided in the morning to do so, so as to avoid the crush and chaos inside). The humanitarian gate opened late, as usual, but things seemed calm there.
7.25. The lines were short, and we joined one. After getting through the cages one has to choose a likely-looking checking station. We chose no.4, only to find that it had suddenly closed. The guard whom we asked about this said they had made a ‘toilet stop.’ Judging by the length of their break, it must have included also coffee and a cigarette… Meanwhile we moved to another line – and then, of course, checking station no.4 re-opened. (This is the sort of gamble one must always take. So often we see people wandering from one checking station, trying to work out which will be the quickest.)
After us came a woman whose face was completely veiled. At the checking station she very briefly lifted the face covering. Today there were only women soldiers there, and we wondered what happens when there are males. Her problem was that her two daughters – festively dressed little girls in identical attire – were left behind in the turnstile. The soldiers understood this and they made it possible for the little ones to pass. After this, the last turnstile was opened and we all exited. The passage took half an hour.
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 FleishmanNov-30-2025Qalandiya: Puddles and dirt after the rain
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