Qalandiya, Mon 31.12.12, Afternoon
16:00 Today the lines at the CP, in the two active passageways, were rather long – unusually so compared to what we’ve seen of late. On average, about 15 people were waiting on line in each passageway most of the afternoon. And there was a line of 9 waiting to enter the DCO offices in Passageway 5. Some of those on line said that they had been waiting to get into the DCO since 12 noon! We phoned headquarters and they promised to try to send someone from the DCO to straighten things out. It took just short of half an hour for a soldier named Alon to show up. He was quite friendly and seemed willing to help. He told us that he was the DCO Representative and even gave us his cellphone number. At 16:30 he let all those waiting into the DCO offices. The line at the bus passenger passageway, at the western end of the CP, was also quite long all afternoon.
At 17:00, as dusk settled over the CP, we noticed that no lights were burning in the northern shed. And then we saw that no one had bothered to change the burnt out bulbs in the lights hanging from the ceiling.
When we left the CP a bit after17:00 there were still lines of about 15 in each of the active passageways.
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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