Qalandiya - first Friday of Ramadan
Reality on the ground refuted all the deceitful tales.
It refuted the lie about “the easing of instructions during Ramadan month” announced by the Israeli army spokesperson, refuted the senior ministers’ statement that “there is no such thing as a Palestinian people”, and refuted the announcement that women’s crossing is not restricted.
The conduct of the regime representatives at Qalandiya on the first Ramadan Friday showed no signs of lighter instructions, nor any changes from last year or the previous years.
Streams of people crowding against the checkpoint entrances showed tens of thousands of times that the Palestinian people is alive and kicking.
Enforcement was right, rigid and merciless.
The system worked like a well-oiled, skillful machine, not meant for human beings – that does not see nor listen to them.
People were directed in tracks by the sovereign, no stepping out of the designated route.
Women in the women’s track, men in the men’s.
Both were carefully inspected and many sent back. Men by their age or transit permits, women in the computer. Those whose relatives ever served time in the Israeli jails were shamedly distanced along with their children.
All those hours, an object floated above looking like a jellyfish..
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 FleishmanJun-25-2025Qalandia: West Bank man injured in both legs
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