Qalandiya, Mon 12.8.13, Afternoon
courtesy of the generous permit policy during the Ramadan month.
15:15 The parking lot on the Palestinian side is packed. A friendly
guy offers us a spot on the sidewalk near the CP entrance, and even drives
it up there for us. The line at the turnstiles occasionally moves in, but
new people join, so that it is more or less constant at several dozen.
4 gates are open, but not the humanitarian gate, although the corwd has a
fair share of women. We timed passage for an individual at about 30
minutes.
Cab drivers stand on the Palestinian side calling out for riders. They
will take them into Israel ("Tel Aviv Yafo!! Tel Aviv Yafo!") for an
admitedly (by them) inflated price of 100 NIS a passenger — but save them
the time and humiliation of passing the Qalandia CP. Today this service
ends, as the Ramadan permits were limited in time and come to an end.
When we left, we entered a long line for passing vehicles, but it moved
along. We were held up for a while, because Canadian Gail could not
produce an Israeli ID. She offered her passport instead, and the
skeptical soldier sniffed at it, insisting he needs to see … her
Isaeli ID.
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-12-2026Qalandiya. Abdallah at his fruit stand
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