Qalandiya CP Monday afternoon, 13.6.2011
On our way to the checkpoint we were delayed by a traffic jam in the southern square for about 10 minutes. On our arrival at the CP, at 3:50 PM, we saw an ambulance standing in the middle of the northern square and so we went over to ask what was happening. The driver told us he was delivering a 17-day old baby from Genin to Muqassad Hospital (Jerusalem), but the soldiers were not allowing him to pass. It turned out that the ambulance from Jerusalem, which would actually deliver the infant, had not yet arrived. He appeared 5 minutes later and then the ambulance from Genin entered the vehicle CP. Once again he was not allowed through because the soldiers claimed that the transfer had not been "coordinated". Once again the driver returned to his post in the northern square and began a series of frenzied phone calls to the hospital, which insisted that there had been "coordination". There is no life without "coordination", even if it costs poor little Toulon Abed El Salah, all of 17 days old, the ultimate sacrifice! We didn't know what to do but in the end decided to call the "Hamal" (headquarters) in the hope that they would help. And it worked! A nice polite (female) soldier answered the phone and promised to investigate what was happening and she kept her promise! When we impatiently called her again 5 minutes later she told us that she was putting the final touches on the arrangements. The ambulance from Genin was finally allowed through the CP and into the parking lot at 4:15 PM, and the baby, accompanied by his mother, was transferred to the Jerusalem ambulance. They left for the hospital at 4:20 and immediately got trapped in the traffic jam mentioned above, but managed to extricate themselves pretty quickly.
In the midst of the story above, a military police vehicle parked itself in the northern square about one yard from the waiting ambulance. The youngsters in nearby Qalandiya Refugee Camp could not forego the opportunity to throw stones at the MPs who were standing, weapons at the ready, waiting to join any fray. It was really frightening to think what would happen if a shower of stones fell on the ambulance and if the soldiers started shooting tear gas grenades in response. Luckily, things quieted down and the soldiers moved their vehicle out of the line of fire and into the adjacent parking lot. The shower of stones ended.
There were not too many people arriving at the CP all afternoon, but the two active passageways were quite full (ca. 40 people in each). The DCO offices were closed at 4 PM and all who showed up later were turned away. (The signs indicating working hours have been changed to show that the DCO closes at 4 PM.) There were no lines all afternoon in the western CP for bus passengers, but the line of vehicles approaching the CP from Ramallah stretched back all the way up the hill for at least 500 meters or more.
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-16-2025Qalandiya: summer fruit
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