Qalandiya, Wed 12.5.10, Afternoon
Translator: Charles K.
Jerusalem Day – There's no closure.
Why should terrorist attacks be more likely on Yom Kippur than on Jerusalem Day? Or could it be that closures are imposed on Jewish holidays not only because of security concerns?
Qalandiya checkpoint
15:30 – There are no cars in the southern circle. Two entry lanes to Jerusalem are open. Three fenced lanes are operating. Lane 4 for men, lane 3 for women, lane 1 for both. People waiting for the DCO enter through lane 5.
15:45 – A line begins forming beyond the cage. The female soldier in charge is reading a book with her legs up on the table.
The northern circle also starts filling up, there is a line of cars towards the entrance of Jerusalem.. New spikes have been placed on the road to prevent people from bypassing the line. Drivers honk angrily, drive like wolves, ignoring the law, huge traffic jam.
On the Ramallah side a French youth is expertly and impressively redoing the graffiti on the wall. He drew Marwan Bargouti and renewed the picture of Arafat he drew a year ago.
16:20 – About 40 people in front of the cage and within it. About a ten-minute wait to enter the line in the fanced lanes. At least 15 people wait to enter each of them.
16:40 – The cage empties. The lines in the fanced lanes are crowded.
When the line of women in lane 3 has disappeared, men from lane 4 weren't allowed to move over.
16:55 – The northern circle is empty.
We don't understand how the checkpoint works, when to expect various areas to be crowded. There's constant uncertainty here, and the Palestinians are completely unable to plan their time. Uncertainty is the only certainty.
17:35 – We get on the road from Qalandiya to Route 443. About 120!!! Cars are waiting at the checkpoint at the entrance to the Atarot industrial area.
On the turnoff from Route 443 to the Qalandiya checkpoint there's only a sign stuck between the barbed wire fences, "Welcome to the Atarot Industrial Park."
There's isn't any posted sign or directions on Route 443 regarding the Qalandiya checkpoint, neither for those coming from the east or from the west. This monster is completely hidden from anyone who doesn't know about it.
On Route 443, going toward Jerusalem, on the portion bordered by walls on both sides, the Jerusalem Municipality has posted a sign: "Education breaches barriers"….?
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-13-2025Qalandiya: Back-to-back procedure for transferring patients
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