Qalandiya, Wed 19.9.12, Morning
Translator: Charles K.
05:20 Many people waiting on line, hurrying to work after our holidays, aware that another two-day closure will be imposed for Yom Kippur. It’s important to be here and report. 1,930 laborers crossed between 05:00 and 07:30; at the beginning it took 30 minutes to get through, but between 06:00 and 07:00 it could take more than an hour. The army is pleased ; we see, and the entire world photographs, what happens during these two hours.
Some people lost their patience around 06:00, and the line was no longer straight and orderly; there was now confusion, congestion and shoving. A man about 50 years old showed the DCO officer a letter from a physician; he said he’d waited on line but as soon as the congestion and crowding began he got out of line because he has heart trouble and has to be careful. He asked to go through the humanitarian gate. We had an interesting conversation with the officer. We asked him what his job was – to serve as an additional policeman at the checkpoint, or take care of problems people have at the checkpoint, and whether he’s authorized to allow that man to go through the humanitarian gate. We don’t know whether the officer spoke with his CO, but were happy to learn that the man eventually crossed through the humanitarian gate.
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 FleishmanOct-27-2026Qalandiya. Closure – Climbing over the fence
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