Qalandiya, Mon 28.11.11, Morning
Translator: Charles K.
We decided to arrive earlier to see whether there will be hundreds of people at the checkpoint very early today as well. So we began our shift at 05:30.
The entrance hall was very full. Only in two of the fenced corridors were people moving; in the third they stood and waited.
The humanitarian gate was still closed, very many people crowded in front of it. We telephoned the DCO, and after the fourth call, at 06:15, two officers and a Bedouin security person arrived, opened the humanitarian gate and began moving the crowd in the corridors.
Neta Efroni also arrived and again photographed what was going on at the checkpoint – the long wait which can last forty minutes on the outer line, the yelling, whistles and all that’s involved in waiting so long. Including the sportsmen among them climbing over the others’ heads.
The indifference of the inspectors, the despair of those waiting, the indignity of the entire procedure.
We waited until 8 AM, saw that the humanitarian gate remained open the whole time and the line for the laborers had almost emptied.
We met a new DCO officer, An’an, a Druze, very nice, who promised he’d make sure the crossing operates as efficiently as possible, considering how many people come through.
There wasn’t the usual congestion in the plaza leading to the vehicle checkpoint when we left at 8 AM.
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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