Qalandiya, Sun 4.12.11, Afternoon
Translation: Ruth Fleishman
During fifty minutes we traversed the 15 meters that separate the Palestinian side of the checkpoint from the Jewish side. The checkpoint was crowded with people, but after standing for thirty minutes and nearly arriving at the turnstiles that lead to the inspection post, the lane in which we stood closed and we were forced to go to the neighboring lane and begin calculating the waiting time all over again. But our loss became our gain for there is no place like the lanes of Qalandiya checkpoint to make new acquaintances and friends.
We met Nibal, one of the two women who are at the head of the organization "Sulha" that works towards the development of a culture of co-existence between Jews, Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians:
More information can be found at the following site: http://www.sulha.com/he/index.asp
Nibal, together with a group of tens of Palestinians from cities from all around the West Bank, she was heading to a meeting with Israeli colleagues.
Nibal lives at Kufer Akev and teaches Hebrew at a school in Shuafat- it doesn't take more than a quarter of an hour to arrive from one place to the other. According to her, every morning she arrives at Qalandiya checkpoint at 6:00 so that she won't be late for school which begins at 8:00.
In the past she would sometimes enter Jerusalem through Hizme checkpoint, this would make the journey much longer but since those with Palestinian IDs aren't permitted to pass there, it would take less time, especially during the morning when thousands of people crowd together at Qalandiya checkpoint. However, since the police stops the traffic of vehicles arriving at Jaba, each morning between 6:00-7:30, so as to alleviate the journey on road 60 for the settlers during rush hours, Nibal stopped using this alternative option. She testified that:
"At times the morning traffic jam reaches Ar-Ram
" (a distance of about two kilometers).
– A resident of Semirmis who had was injured in a frontal car accident and was escorted by her three children, was transferred from a Red Crescent ambulance to an Israeli one at the parking lot inside, next to the vehicle checkpoint
Qalandiya Checkpoint / Atarot Pass (Jerusalem)
See all reports for this place-
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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