Qalandiya - the Corona epidemic reached the West Bank
As always at the same time, when Qalandiya enters my field of vision, my eyes look for the designated transport awaiting patients who were released the same day from hospital, to bring them back home to Gaza.
Unfortunately, the eyes did not find what they were seeking.
I was told that since the beginning of the Corona-virus pandemic, they do not come nor return.
The eyes that did not find what they sought found what they did not seek and could not ignore – the bridge that had been constructed over months, with extraordinary labor and funds, stretched over the vehicle checkpoint and the only way to and from the West Bank.
Pedestrians exiting and returning to the West Bank have no alternative but to climb or descend the dozens of stairs.
It’s an extra half-kilometer on our way, said someone who counted the steps and made the calculation. So it’s true that parallel to the stairs a ramp was paved, but an elevator for those having trouble walking is nowhere to be seen.
The vehicle checkpoint has been upgraded, with an automatic system operated remotely, lifting and dropping metal barriers under which and in coordination with, a row of spikes emerges and disappears respectively from and into the road.
The top of the bridge is a marvelous observation point of the checkpoint below and heaven for photographers.
Beyond, in the refugee camp, existential hardship is visible everywhere.
No work = no money = less customers in the shops = the shelves gradually emptying.
I was told that when the Corona-virus hit the West Bank, one family from Kufr Akeb, five members who fell ill, fell in between chairs because of their blue (Israeli resident) IDs. The Israeli Red Star of David told them not to come and be tested, refusing to care for them, while the health administration of the Palestinian Authority said they only treat holders of green (Palestinian) IDs. The five were under siege at home, and the people who bothered bringing food to their threshold were members of the Tanzim.
The PA declared closure over the entire West Bank, a checkpoint was erected on the road to Ramallah, traffic between neighborhoods was prevented, and an official vehicle passed every few hours and voiced instructions and warnings over its loudspeakers.
But this initiative did not last long.
From the Qalandiya checkpoint a large force of Israeli soldiers ventured out, headed by an officer named Hussam, announcing that everything was under Israeli army control: including Kufr Akeb, Qalandiya refugee camp as well as the Semiramis Hotel.
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 FleishmanFeb-27-2026Qalandiya: On the way to prayer
-