Qalandiya, Mon 29.10.12, Morning
Translator: Charles K.
05:50 We join a lengthy winding line at Qalandiya of people waiting quietly for a long time, strangely accepting.
The humanitarian gate is locked; only three of the five inspection booths operate… We ask why; the DCO officer tells us those are the instructions. A police commander standing near him isn’t obligated to answer me. After some long minutes the remaining booths nevertheless opened and the line disappeared much more rapidly. I understood that the person in charge of opening the crossing thought that the holiday of Eid al Adha was still underway and saw no reason to adapt the instructions to the situation on the ground and make it easier for the laborers instead of making things unbearable. After we had stood there for about an hour there was a sudden outbreak of shoving because of frustration and anger at the long wait.
There were also a number of families with many little children at the checkpoint who’d received permits to visit relatives in Jerusalem. The permits were valid for 08:00 but they’d already arrived at six to have a little more time with the relatives they hadn’t seen for a long time. The DCO officer tried to help them but the police commander very rudely sent them to the dark waiting room, where not even one neon light was working. The argument that only laborers are supposed to cross at this hour didn’t justify the way they were treated.
It was extremely moving to see the excited little children, all dressed up, who’d risen in the middle of the night and were very tired, waiting quietly for the police commander who refused to let them cross before eight. The people had come to Qalandiya from Nablus; they told us that the family in Jerusalem has never met the children.
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-16-2026Qalandiya CP: shortcut
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