Qalandiya, Tue 15.5.12, Morning
Translator: Charles K.
06:00
It’s not calm this morning; it’s bad for everyone. Today is Nakba Day. Perhaps the soldiers haven’t come to work?
Many people sit on the benches in the large shed, waiting, a sign they despair of soon going through the line. The lines are congested, young men climb over others. The morning isn’t quiet.
Two fenced corridor still haven’t opened, which is apparently the reason for the long delay and why the people waiting are jumpy – they know it will be a long time before they reach the other side of the checkpoint.
That’s the essence of the apparatus of control over others – while the regime prepares itself with war games and general staff sand tables, it has completely lost its ability to comprehend how people live. An ordinary blue, chilly morning: a boy with a schoolbag full of books, holding his sister’s hand; tall, slim girls with backpacks, on their way to school; men selling coffee and Arab bagels; a stand with vegetables in glorious colors.
But the fenced corridors didn’t open this morning and there were lines at the revolving gates for two whole hours, without a break.
Although the humanitarian gate opened late, it stayed open continuously. This time, people on line weren’t made to wait.
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 FleishmanJul-21-2026Qalandiya. Conversation in the shadow of the wall
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