Qalandiya, Tue 2.12.08, Afternoon
We went to Qalandiya via Atarot. When we arrived there, there was relatively little traffic.
Vehicle crossing:
There was a policeman there who
was pulling over cars and checking registrations. One woman (with a
small child in her car) was stopped because she had not paid her
registration fee. (It was 20 days late). She was slapped with a 500
shekel fine. The policeman, who saw me writing all this down, told me
to write that she "knowingly evaded the law and continued driving even
though her registration had expired". The sticker on the car said that
the registration was good until 2009, but the situation might have been
that of a new car that did not have to undergo inspection this year but
whose registration had to be paid for. Actually, the policeman was not
discourteous, but he was terribly concerned about what I might be
writing about him.
He was "protected" by two civilian security guards who tried very hard to assert their authority.
Pedestrian crossings:
There
were two lanes open the whole time we were there so that passage moved
quite quickly. (It took us 12 minutes to get through). One of the men
who was waiting in line said that when we are there, the people are
treated like human beings. He said that when no one was watching, the
soldiers didn't care about how they treated the people.
The
soldier stationed in the concrete hut occasionally directed people to
the second crossing. He might have meant well, trying to keep everyone
from crowding up at one security check, but he continually shouted over
the loudspeaker which was terribly unnerving and disturbing.
As
compared to times past when we used to come regularly to Qalandiya,
there were many fewer people and many fewer cars. Perhaps the
inconvenience, wait, humiliation, and tightening up of regulations has
discouraged people from even trying to get through.
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
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