Qalandiya, Monday, 18.4.2009
15:30, Qalandiya: The traffic jam in the southern square was backed-up almost as far as Border Police Headquarters on the road from Beit Hanina. It took us 20 minutes just to reach the CP. As we were passing through, we were stopped by three soldiers who were checking the vehicle traffic to Ramallah. They looked anxious that Israeli's would be traveling north, so we explained that, as members of MW, we were only going to the CP parking lot. At that point they began to ask about MW, who we are and what we do. They had never heard of us, but because of the long line behind us, we did not stay to talk to them.
Inside the CP there were very few people. An illegible hand-written sign in Arabic was hanging at the entrance to the DCO offices. As far as we could understand, it announced that the offices would be closed until after the holiday, 26/4/2011.
In spite of the fact that only a few people were trying to get to Jerusalem, there were lines of about 20 people in each of the two active passageways. At 4 PM the PA system announced opening of a third passageway and the lines shortened accordingly. We got in one of the lines and, when we reached the "aquarium", the (female) soldier checking peoples' papers looked at our badges and announced that we were from MW and opposed to the CP regime. When we confirmed what she had said, another soldier from somewhere in the aquarium began a loud tirade against leftists and everyone opposed to the Occupation. When Natanya presented her ID card she was required to insert it into the photocopy machine and then was asked to turn it the other way. Natanya asked: "Am I pretty now?" and the (female) soldier replied "If you were right-wing, you would be prettier!" (Who trains the people who serve in the CPs? Does anyone care how they function?)
Emerging on the Jerusalem side, we saw an ambulance awaiting a patient from Ramallah. In less than 10 minutes the Palestinian ambulance arrived and the tiny passenger accompanied by its mother was transferred with no delay.
We would like to take this opportunity to report something unusual: after years of distributing sweets to the little peddlers who sell things at Qalandiya, the little fellow from whom we had bought some cold water went off and came back to give Natanya a chocolate candy as a present.
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-26-2026Qalandiya. Things you see on the way
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