Qalandiya, Mon 11.11.13, Afternoon
3:40 PM – When we arrived at the CP we saw about 10 laborers sitting and waiting in the northern shed for transportation to their homes. Inside the CP three passageways were working. About 20 laborers were anxiously waiting on line Passageway 4, hurrying to their afternoon shift at work. The soldiers on duty in the "aquarium" were not paying much attention to what was going on outside the passageway and only when we made a racket did they look up and notice the large number of "clients". A telephone call to headquarters also helped to focus their attention.
About 10 people were waiting on line in each of passageways 1 and 2 and another 10 were waiting in the DCO shed.
At 4 PM we observed traffic jams at both the southern and northern entrances to the vehicle CP. But there was no line in the western passageway for bus passengers.
The three passageways continued to operate in the CP proper until about 4:30 PM when one of them shut down.
A taxi driver told Natanya that the PA sends representatives to check on vehicles at Qalandiya CP, looking to find stolen cars or cars that can be fined for violations. The drivers feel targeted by both the Israeli and the Palestinian authorities.
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 FleishmanFeb-27-2026Qalandiya: On the way to prayer
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