Qalandiya, Tue 1.11.11, Morning
There are medium-length lines waiting to enter the three narrow, cage-like passages leading to the first turnstiles and a crowd of about 80 people waiting in front of the Humanitarian Gate when we arrive at just after 6 a.m. From then until 6:30, the female soldier on duty does not open the turnstile of the right-hand passageway. The men stuck in this passage understandably grow increasingly frustrated, and we try to communicate with the woman soldier inside the glassed-in booth, but to no avail. She realizes that we are trying to convey a message to her but does not come out to hear what it is. We therefore have no explanation of why she does not open the third turnstile. Twice between 6:00 and 6:30 we call the DCO to report this annoying situation and also to note that there is a large crowd waiting by the Humanitarian Gate. At 6:30 the third carousel begins to operate.
At the same hour a soldier and security guard appear, open the Humanitarian Gate, and allow 80 people through. They confiscate the permits of four men who were not entitled to use the gate, send them back out to stand near us (to whom they naturally appeal for help), and return the permits to them 20 minutes later. Thereafter the Humanitarian Gate is opened at frequent intervals, with between 25 and 50 people allowed through each time. Thus by the time we leave the checkpoint at 7 A.M., almost 300 people have passed through the gate. The rate of movement through the three narrow, cage-like passages is also regular after 6:30. All five checking stations are open but the x-ray machine in Station 5 is out of order, so that only people without a purse, knapsack, food bag, and the like are allowed to approach it.
We were once again impressed by how poorly this major checkpoint, through which thousands of people pass each day, is managed. Until 6:30 A.M., no officer appears on site to supervise it, and managing the checkpoint is essentially left in the hands of Israeli teenagers who appear to take no pride in their work and project to the Palestinians that they couldn’t care less whether the checkpoint operates properly or not. We cannot come up with any other explanation of why, for close to half an hour, the woman soldier opened only two of the three turnstiles when the third was in proper working condition.
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 FleishmanApr-26-2026Qalandiya. Things you see on the way
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