Qalandiya, Sun 7.7.13, Morning
We got to the checkpoint at 05:00. The lines arrived up to the tea/coffee vendor. All five gates were open, so it should have been faster.
The EAPPI volunteer said it was moving very slowly. By 06:45 I called the Matak and I was transferred to the soldier. She said she was arriving in a few minutes and will check. She was new to the checkpoint, according to her behavior. I have never seen her before.
Someone called the EAPPI volunteer and said the carrousel at the exit was stuck and no one was able to leave the checkpoint on the other side. When she crossed, it took her 50 minutes throu gate 1. She said the metal detector was not working, and bags were passed four and five times throu it. Some people whose bags couldn't be scanned had to leave them there. The volunteer was checked for four minutes, her passport, her visa, were scrutinized thoroughly.
At 06:05 the humanitarian gate was open. Many people were trying to go throu it because of the long line which at that moment reached deep into the parking lot. The police man, who has been there for a long time was very nasty, screaming "back, go back" at anyone who did not comply with the directives of who can go throu the humanitarian gate.
I asked him a question and he just spat to me: mind your own business! And you can write it in the report if you want!
A second EAPPI volunteer who came into our side, crossed back and it took her 55 minutes.
We left at 07:00, there was a long line but back to normal, and flowing
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 FleishmanNov-30-2025Qalandiya: Puddles and dirt after the rain
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