Qalandiya, Tue 30.7.13, Morning
The lines extended deep into the parking lot when we arrived at 05:45 and the pace of opening the turnstiles – and thus of the advancement of the lines — was agonizingly slow. A bit after 06:00 patience seemed to run out and the lines dissolved, as people rushed into the shack, creating a mass of people beyond the three “cages.” But other than a temporary release of tension, nothing changed. We twice called the Humanitarian Line, first to call for a DCO soldier or officer to open the Humanitarian Gate and secondly to suggest that an officer appear to see the situation and manage the pace at which the turnstiles were opened and the number of people allowed through each time.
Close to 06:15 a Civil Administration soldier came out and opened the Humanitarian Gate, repeating the process about every 10 minutes until 7 o’clock. At about the same time, the policeman who had been present all along, seated inside the “aquarium,” came out of the booth but did not appear to address the situation in any way. Closer to 07:00, more people were allowed through the first turnstile each time it was opened, so that by 07:15 the “peak” had passed and the lines no longer extended beyond the cages.
When the pressure had lessened, the Civil Administration soldier talked with us, reporting that the situation had been so bad on the previous Sunday that the CA actually filmed it (for its own purposes). He also suggested that the relatively large number of people jamming the checkpoint stemmed from the granting of family-visit permits for Ramadan, and around 7 A.M. we did see a few groups of women arriving with children. But we found it hard to believe that this was the reason for the long lines and slow pace from 05:45 to 07:00 or so, when then the overwhelming number of people entering the checkpoint were workers. If however, the Civil Administration’s analysis is correct, the irony deeply embedded in the willingness to enable Palestinian families to celebrate Ramadan together and thus sweeten their lives had the opposite effect of making the lives of the Palestinian workers who must pass through the checkpoint every morning more difficult. Granting a large number of family visit permits should naturally mean expanding the facilities to accommodate them, or at least limiting the hours during which they can be used to after 8 A.M.
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 FleishmanMay-31-2026Qalandiya. Human remains or clothing remains
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