Qalandiya CP Monday afternoon, 2.5.2011
15:30: For a change, there was no traffic jam on our way to the CP. At Qalandiya we found two active passageways with only a few people waiting in each. In Passageway 5, to the DCO offices, a man and woman were waiting. They told us that they had been waiting 10 minutes. The man said that he had called out to the soldier in the insulated cell, to attract his attention, and the soldier had in return made an obscene gesture. We phoned headquarters to find out what was happening and the entry carousel opened immediately. We watched as the couple entered and saw that the husband was taken directly to an examination room while the woman went on to the DCO shed. As we stood in the passageway, we noticed that the carousel had opened again, as if inviting us to enter too – so we did and after presenting our papers, went into the DCO shed.
A large crowd of over 30 men was waiting in the shed, most of them from the area around Beit Zurik, waiting to renew their bio-magnetic cards. Nothing seemed to be moving. We asked several people how long they had been waiting and the answer generally ranged from 5 to 6 hours. (Their faces registered despair.) We called the DCO offices. The soldier who answered the phone assured us that everyone waiting in the shed would be taken care of. (Those who were waiting did not seem to believe this.)
At about 4 PM, when the gate between the shed and the DCO offices opened, the woman whom we had met previously managed to get in to take care of her problem. We decided to return to the CP and see what was happening. On our way out we met two young men who had just arrived and wanted to get to the DCO offices (which are generally closed to new arrivals at 4 PM on the dot). We didn't think they would succeed, but they called to the (same) soldier, shouting that one of them was sick and had to reach a hospital. The soldier immediately opened the carousel.
Meanwhile, conditions in the passageways had become more crowded. At this point, about 20 people were waiting in each of the two passageways.
16:20: The woman whom we had met finished her business in the DCO and emerged into the northern shed, but her husband was still imprisoned in the passageway. Once again we called headquarters and talked with Shlomi. The husband was released 10 minutes later after being detained for an hour. According to his version, his detention had been an abuse of authority by the soldier on duty.
We left Qalandiya a little before 5 PM. We returned to Jerusalem via Lil/Jabba and Hizmeh CPs. Traffic flowed in both and we didn't see any problems
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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