Qalandiya, Fri 7.12.12, Morning
Translator: Charles K.
09:00 About 50 people wait at the regular crossing. A large group also waited at the humanitarian gate. We learned that it had been decided that day to bring those with a permit for Friday prayers through the humanitarian gate and everyone else through the regular crossing.
After a few minutes the line lengthened at the regular crossing. A man and his daughter with blue ID cards approached us. The man complained that the congestion was making his daughter late for her class at the university.
Older people were also waiting on the regular line, among them an older woman sitting on a folding chair.
At 09:15 we observed congestion at the booths inside and called the DCO to ask that them to open an additional booth. As time passed lines formed at the regular crossing and at the humanitarian crossing. At 09:25 an additional booth opened. Inspections of those on the humanitarian line were conducted at the entrance to the checkpoint.
We heard a female soldier speaking over the loudspeaker in an aggressive tone: “I’m not going to work until you move back. I see you.” A woman standing next to the humanitarian gate told us she wants a permit to take her daughter, who has a kidney ailment, to the hospital tomorrow. She said the officer who stood at the entrance to humanitarian gate inspecting documents asked her to wait until he finished his urgent tasks. She explained that she usually obtains the permits at A-Ram, but that office was closed on Friday.
At 10:00, after he had dealt with all who waited at the gate, the officer spoke to her and allowed her to cross. By this time most people at the humanitarian gate and at the regular crossing had gone through.
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 FleishmanJul-21-2026Qalandiya. Conversation in the shadow of the wall
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