Qalandiya, Palestinians come to our aid
A reasonable day, some Palestinians help us solve a car problem.
05.15. Cold and dark, still wet from night rain. The parking lot is full – the new one, for payment, not yet open.
Five checking stations were open most of the time, but long lines extended out of the shed.
At 5.25 a policeman arrived and sat outside the cubicle. Towards 6 a crowd gathered at the humanitarian gate, which finally was opened by a D.C.O. officer at 6.15, when all those ‘entitled’ rushed from the regular lines to the gate.
At 7.30 the lines were quite short and we joined one. At the checking station itself the soldier asked to see our permit, allowing us as Israelis to be in Area A. We explained that we were in fact in an area belonging to Jerusalem and, therefore, entitled to be there, and that we came every week. He asked us to wait while he consulted his colleague. We agreed, but asked that he not delay the Palestinians behind us in line. Fortunately his companion had heard of Machsomwatch and calmed him down, so the delay was not long. In the end, we passed in 30 minutes altogether.
When we reached the car, we found it would not open. The battery of the remote was apparently flat. A young man came to help. He opened the remote with his pen=knife and tried to jiggle the battery – to no avail. Then another man came, lent us the battery inside his remote. We inserted it, opened the door and started the motor – and with heartfelt thanks returned his battery.
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 FleishmanJun-28-2026Qalandiya. The bridge leading from Jerusalem to the Qalandiya checkpoint
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