Qalandiya, Mon 23.11.09, Morning
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6:20 we are at the CP, where the usuall catastrophy is going on at full blast. Hundreds of people are pushing, screaming, swearing, climbing over each other , and the Humanitarien gate is equally as full and closed. At 6:30 the first group of humanitarien cases is let in. There are may be 150 school children alone as well as three blind people a huge number of old people, sick children with cancer, a lot of women etc, etc, and no one to talk to or ask for some assistance. Three police officers, one DCO officer who hardly pays any attention and a few security guys who only look to intimidate everybody. We call the DCO, main number, we call the DCO office at Qalandiya and are promised some response. The problem is that the CP is too small for the amount of people that try to go through at the rush hour between 6-8 in the morning. The police and army men there just don't care. At best they try to educate the workers not to push and behave like English gentlemen in a queu. There is no attempt to speed up the process, open at 5 am in order to avoid the big crowds from gathering and they don't try to listen or help in any way. It is heartbreaking. I saw a mother with a little boy ,who had cancer, about 4-5 years old pushing in among the men because she realized she will never make it to the hospital in time in the humanitarien line.I could not get the police/army people to listen and help. We have to get to speak with the comander of Qalandiya or the commander of all the Jerusalem CPs in order to try and solve this unneccessary suffering that is caused because of ill will and carelesness. |
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-16-2025Qalandiya: summer fruit
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