Qalandiya, Tue 29.3.11, Morning
Jib, 5:40: Relatively few people on short lines that moved quickly. We left at 6:10 a.m.
Qalandiya, 6:20: Another bad morning here. Long lines waiting to enter the cage-like “sleeves.” The revolving gates at the end of all three “sleeves” were working, as were all five checking booths. Nonetheless, there was heavy crowding in the sleeves, and our time check (with the help of one of the men found at the end of the line when we arrived) showed that it took 2 hours and 10 minutes to get through the checkpoint. World Council of Churches volunteers counted less than 500 people passing through between 5:30 and 6:30, in place of what they said were usually 1,000 during those hours. A crowd also built up periodically at the Humanitarian Gate. Though it was initially opened only once each every hour, the pace changed to once every 10-15 minutes as the time grew closer to 8 a.m. The officer in charge of the Humanitarian Gate spoke with us at length and was responsive to our requests, e.g., advancing women with young children to the head of the line.
The mood of frustration and anger among the people waiting on the three lines through the “sleeves” was particularly high. We were approached by any number of men, all conveying the same message: over the past 2-3 weeks, the amount of time it takes to negotiate the checkpoint has become intolerable. Many expressed the belief that the slowdown was deliberate. We spoke with a blue-uniformed policeman who sensed the widespread frustration but explained that all the checking stations were working and people were doing their best. He also intimated that the checkers manning the stations were a new group, which may have accounted for feeling that things were moving more slowly than usual. To his credit, he also briefly attempted to explain this directly to the exasperated men standing around us. At 8 a.m., when we left, the lines leading into the sleeves were shorter and crowding inside the sleeves had
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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