Qalandiya, Tue 13.8.13, Morning
Translation: Judith Green
A particularly slow morning.
Just like previous Tuesdays the last few weeks, the lines reached deep into the parking lot when we arrived, at 5:45. The pace was particularly slow. We tracked one man in a brightly-colored shirt at the end of one of the lines until he passed through the first turnstile (at the end of one of the cages), and this part of the journey alone took 30 minutes (he still had to wait at the second turnstile leading into the inspection line). Even after that, the pace remained slow. Because of the long wait, there was tension in the air and not a few incidents of pushing at the entrance to the left waiting area (always prone to turbulence) and the people were pressed into this space every time that the turnstile opened and the line began to move.
The policeman responsible for the area sat within the aquarium when we arrived, but didn't come out or make any effort to cope with the delays until the soldier from the DCO arrived at 6:10 in order to open the humanitarian gate. The number of people who had gathered next to the gate during the 2 hours we were there was greater than during the days of Ramadan, and the gate only opened when there was a considerable number of people next to it. As usual, when there are long lines and slow progress, men who are not allowed to go through the humanitarian gate tried their luck and were refused, but there was total order next to the gate.
During Ramadan, the hours of pressure in the morning were over by 7:00. Today, which was the "peak" according to the DCO soldier, it took until 7:45, when the lines were contained within the holding rooms and there was no one next to the humanitarian gate.
This week, we did not see rats running along the straight red beam over the locked latrines, not far from the humanitarian gate. If their absence was a result of the extermination during the week, we are thankful for it. If such work was not done, and the lack of rats was just a coincidence, it is important for those managing the checkpoint to know that there are rats within its area.
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-12-2026Qalandiya. Abdallah at his fruit stand
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