Qalandiya - digging, flattening and destroying
After destruction of the roundabout comes the turn of the road leading to the West Bank towards road 443. The Israeli authorities are digging, flattening and destroying.
The noise is unbearable, clouds of dust mix with the vehicles’ exhaust fumes, traffic to the West Bank is directed to winding detour streets in the Atarot industrial zone, and the time it takes to get to Qalandiya has doubled.
Later, security official Raslan said: all this is happening because the road is being improved. When the work is done, there will be several traffic lanes. It will take another few months.
Sitting with taxi drivers waiting for fares at the opening of the bridge, I learned that in the early morning hours, when thousands arrive at the place that is supposed to be a central bus station (under construction), a place where people also perform their morning prayers, there are no adequate conditions either for prayer of for whoever need to relieve themselves (namely have to pee…).
At the corner of the compound, adjacent to the steps, a mobile unit has been placed with two doors leading to two toilets, to serve thousands of women and men.
Because of the stench, the crowding and the waiting line at the doors, many prefer to relieve themselves outside. Not once, nor twice – Jerusalem municipal inspectors, overt and/or covert, have emerged and fined the urinators for 450 shekels.
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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