Qalandiya, Mon 1.6.09, Morning
6:00 we are on our way to Qalandiya. We cross the C. P. and park in the Palestinien parking lot. We just have to see the sign that tells us about the hope of all of us…..
There are very few people in the lines and it goes fast. We are surprised and are waiting to see if it will change later. The Humanitarien gate is closed. The DCO officer tells us there is no key to be found anywhere. All the women and children go through the usual lines, but since there is hardly any waiting , it works. The ecuminical crew tells us that a week ago tues, it was terrible. The soldier girls were checking every person for ten minutes and the lines , pushing and screaming was intolerable.
We ask the officer to find the key, he goes away and comes back after ten min. without one. The key disappeared. A woman with a tiny baby and a very sick woman with cancer also have to stand in line.
We decide to go through as well. All the station work in an orderly fashion except one where there is pushing and shoving for no good reason. It takes us 15 min. to go through.
We return through Hizme.
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 FleishmanApr-27-2025Qalandiya: A beggar woman
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