Qalandiya CP - Queues extend out of the checkpoint
05.15. Cold and dark. Five checking stations were open most of the time, but the queues stretched way beyond the shed. Yet the speed of checking seemed reasonable. The beigel seller was present, as well as the relatively new falafel stall, and the coffee kiosk was once again open for business.
The third turnstile (furthest from the soldier’s cubicle) was blocked, and so there were only 2, consequently long lines. People were let in frequently, if not many each time. We noticed that there seems to be less smoking nowadays. Is there more awareness among Palestinians now about the dangers of smoking?
06.00. There are already many waiting at the humanitarian gate. The woman soldier who replaced her colleague in the cubicle sometimes was confused and opened only one turnstile at a time, causing lots angry shouts from the unopened one. The guard who accompanied her helped her, and at one stage simply opened the carousels himself. Meanwhile, the D.C.O. officer arrived and the gate opened at 6.15.
We went outside to buy tea at the kiosk. The minibuses that now reach the entrance to the checkpoint drive towards the new roundabout and then wait for the people in the lines that have stretched out of the shed to move aside to make way for them on the road. One minibus simply drove onto the paving of the roundabout.
At 7.25 the lines were short, and we joined one. While we were waiting in one of the cages we saw the D.C.O. officer and the guard moving across to the Palestinian side of the checkpoint. The humanitarian gate was closed. After we passed, we saw the soldier returning from the direction of the vehicles checkpoint.
It took about 25 minutes to pass.
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 FleishmanFeb-27-2026Qalandiya: On the way to prayer
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