Qalandiya, Wed 26.12.07, Afternoon
:
Qalandiya
The temporary checkpoint in the middle of the
road that leads from 443 to Qalandiya checkpoint, a few hundred meters away from
Qalandiya checkpoint itself, is active today and the soldiers are checking every
car, except the ones they know and that go to Atarot Border Police Base.
When we reach the permanent Qalandya checkpoint we see that a blue-dressed
policeman is checking the documents of cars going north into the West Bank
(Qalandiya is in territory annexed by Israel) and the rumors go that a few days
earlier an Israeli Jew entered Ramallah by mistake and now the police wants to
warn Israelis not to go through the checkpoint.
At 4:09 the pedestrian checkpoint crossing
south to Jerusalem: 2 checking booths are open but there are about 20
people waiting outside of the checking area and still have to go through the
first turnstiles in order to reach the checking booths.
At 4:10 more people have gathered and now we count 35 waiting outside the
checking area. Today, at this time, it takes a Jerusalem blue ID holder
about 20 minutes to cross. We have to remember this is a daily occurrence
that takes place several times a day. If we calculate the time
"stolen" from Palestinians by the checkpoints, we would reach
astronomic numbers.
At 4:20 checking booth # 4 is closed and then
we see the usual ritual whereby the first people on the line to enter the
checking booth become the last as all run to booth # 1 that has been opened
just now. At 4:21 (one minute later), the soldier announces that booth #
4 has been reopened and the running back and forth continues, with the
frustration of those who have lost their place in the line and have to waste
precious time again. All this is announced through a loudspeaker, but the
soldier shouts the orders and therefore not a word can be understood and people
have to try to guess what is being said.
At the northern part of the checkpoint, at
the roundabout before the entrance to the car lanes checkpoint, an armored
vehicle is parked, facing the
Qalandya refugee camp. It is blocking the
entrance of the taxis to the checkpoint and when we point this out, after some
considerations, the vehicle retreats.
The same as last week, a soldier posted at
the tower in the pillbox shouts in English: "Go away", "You are
bothering". After a while he changes into Arabic: "Ruhi".
wants us to leave and Palestinians who want our help to get permits to go into Israel. They ask for Haya or Phillis. It is terrible to
see that a grown up man, father of children, has joined the children cleaning
car windows at the roundabout. He begs us to help him get a permit so he
can get a job he has been promised in Jerusalem. The concentration of AVELOT at the checkpoint is
overwhelming
Qalandiya Checkpoint / Atarot Pass (Jerusalem)
See all reports for this place-
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-16-2025Qalandiya: summer fruit
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