Qalandiya, Friday, 4.2.11
Few people at the checkpoint. We didn’t see West Bank residents coming to Friday prayer at the al-Aqsa mosque. A number of men told us that no permits were given this week. Fear of demonstrations in Jerusalem because of the rebellion by the people of Egypt. This was confirmed by the Palestinian news web sites. In addition to denying residents of the West Bank permits to pray at al-Aqsa, the Israeli police deployed in East Jerusalem ready to react to demonstrations. We saw a vehicle with a water cannon at the entrance to the Old City’s New Gate.
As we said, there were few people at the checkpoint – a Friday checkpoint with no police or DCO representatives. The bus lane is closed; some confusion in the vehicle lane where, no matter how few cars there are, somehow there’s always a mess. Pedestrians go through the usual lane without much delay because there are so few people. No peddlers at the checkpoint or around it, but beyond the plaza Abu Ahmad gave us hot tea and said that the army hasn’t yet chased him off because he’s farther away. I want to stress that we saw no abuse or problems caused by the army, nor endless waits at the revolving gates – because there weren’t many people there. Palestinians didn’t come because they’d been denied permits.
Qalandiya Checkpoint / Atarot Pass (Jerusalem)
See all reports for this place-
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 FleishmanMay-13-2025Qalandiya: Back-to-back procedure for transferring patients
-
