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Qalandiya, Mon 10.12.12, Afternoon
Observers: Natanya G., Phyllis W. and a young guest (Nevo)
There was not much to report. At 15:30 the pedestrian CP was almost empty, 3 passageways were operating intermittently and 2 young men were waiting in Passageway 5 to enter the DCO offices. The northern shed, at the CP entrance, was deserted, dirty and neglected. Traffic in the vehicle CP was quite heavy and beyond, in the western passageway for bus passengers, we could see a line of some 20 people, evidence that this facility was open for a change. There was no change in these conditions all during our shift at the CP, even when one of the passageways in the pedestrian CP shut down.
At 15:50, we saw that the two men were still waiting to enter the DCO passageway and time was running out (as the passageway is shut at 16:00 and only those who have already entered the offices are taken care of). We phoned headquarters and asked them to instruct the soldiers in aquarium 4-5 to let the people through. They complied and the men were shortly admitted. But a soldier who saw us standing near the passageway shouted at us that the two had not been waiting that long and that we needed glasses if we thought we had seen them on line at 15:30 .
Natanya took Nevo to see the grafitti on the wall opposite Qalandiya Refugee Camp. Some of the peddlers approached them to ask for money and Nevo felt pretty threatened, but the two of them returned from their excursion with no problem.
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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