Qalandiya, Sun 20.11.11, Morning
Translator: Charles K.
5:30 We arrived at the checkpoint. Three fenced corridors were open, but even at this hour a long line stretched from the compound to the road, and it didn’t look like it was moving at all.
5:45 People on line began to shove for no apparent reason, to shout and begin climbing the fences
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6:00 Many people began gathering at the humanitarian gate.
6:30 An officer and a person from the security company arrive; they weren’t in any hurry to open the humanitarian gate, which was overflowing with people. Two more fenced corridors open, but the line still moved very slowly. The humanitarian gate also opened.
The soldier at the humanitarian gate who checked the crossing permits discovered some people lacking the special permit required, and temporarily confiscated their crossing permits as punishment (to “teach them a lesson,” he said. After what seemed to them an eternity, he
returned their permits). One of the “victims” had undergone a stomach operation; the incisions had not yet healed completely and he was afraid to stand in the regular line because the stitches might open. When we asked the officer to allow him through the humanitarian line nevertheless, so he wouldn’t be jammed into the packed revolving gates, he pretended not to hear us. How frustrating!!!
During the past two weeks, conditions at the crossing have deteriorated so badly that they’re now inhuman. It’s pointless only to come and report. We have to think of additional ways to relieve the situation we’ve created that humiliates poor, hard-working people.
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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