Qalandiya, Tue 3.4.12, Morning
05:00, a little chilly, people are smiling
As if someone had read our complaints regarding last Tuesday, when nothing worked properly, this morning we arrived at the checkpoint at exactly the same hour and saw a demonstration of how the checkpoint can be operated very efficiently and with a minimum of discomfort for people going through.
People arrived at the checkpoint at the usual rate, a normal, ordinary Tuesday, like last Tuesday. The most obvious difference between last week’s terrible congestion and this morning’s uninterrupted flow was the attention paid to controlling movement of people through the checkpoint.
To demonstrate, I prepared two tables comparing the situation at the checkpoint on the most and the least congested day.
The tables refer to the period between 05:00 – 07:00 because last week, at 07:05, the mass of laborers who’d filled the plaza, pressing up against the fence, burst through a side gate. More than a hundred people flowed in, flooded the inspection stations and disrupted everything until 09:00. That’s why no comparison is possible with what occurred after 07:00.
The number of people waiting on the outer line in the entry plaza
(including the humanitarian entrance)
|
During the half-hour beginning at: |
Congested day 27.3.12 |
Uncongested day 3.4.12 |
|
05:00 |
200 |
150 |
|
05:30 |
350 |
200 |
|
06:00 |
500 |
250 |
|
06:30 |
450 |
220 |
|
07:00 |
500 |
100 |
The number of people from the entry plaza joining the inner line for inspection
|
Between the hours of: |
Congested day 27.3.12 |
Uncongested day 3.4.12 |
|
05:00-05:30 |
129 |
228 |
|
05:30-06:00 |
141 |
309 |
|
06:00-06:30 |
139 |
338 |
|
06:30-07:00 |
120 |
438 |
Similarities between last Tuesday and this Tuesday:
At 05:00, the five computer inspection stations were open.
Ten people waited at each inspection station
Last week there were about 200 people on line at 05:00
This week there were about 150 people on line at 05:00
At 06:00, an additional inspection lane opened.
We counted the number of people on line in the plaza for inspection at each revolving gate.
We estimated the number of people on line at the humanitarian gate because it was more difficult to count them.
We determined the number of people going through the revolving gates by counting the number of people entering through the first gate each time it opened and multiplying that number by the number of gates that were operating.
We counted the exact number of people going through the humanitarian gate when they entered the corridor leading to the inspection booth.
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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