Qalandiya, Wed 30.5.12, Afternoon
Translator: Charles K.
An early, short shift because of prior commitments.
A new monument decorates the traffic circle at the turn from Highway 443 toward Qalandiya-Atarot.
15:45 The southern plaza is, as usual, congested and jammed.
The pedestrian crossing is almost completely deserted. The peddlers offer a range of merchandise – cherries from the Golan, figs from Ramallah, grapes, plums…
They compete for each customer, as do the taxi drivers who keep moving around to attract passengers.
We learned that for NIS 10 you can go through Hizma, instead of paying NIS 6.60 for a minibus to Jerusalem, and avoid the pleasure of going through the checkpoint…
Talking to the taxi drivers about their struggle to make a living, we hear about a resident of Kafr Akab with a blue (Israeli) ID card.
There’s an ongoing policy to limit the number of taxis and make it hard for the drivers to earn a living. Here’s how the occupation’s bureaucracy works:
Vehicles from the Ministry of Transport (not the police) wait on Highway 1, stop taxis and try to determine whether they’ve charged for the ride. The frightened passenger usually incriminates the driver, who doesn’t have a permit to charge people. If the passenger denies he’s paid, they threaten the other passengers. The driver receives a ticket from the police, is reported to the income tax authorities and to the Ministry of Transport – so the driver must try to obtain a permit from the License Bureau in the Clal building, which is almost impossible.
12 of the 20 drivers remain.
But, of course, there’s a cheaper and more convenient arrangement, for settlers only!
Egged charges NIS 3.30 from the Adam settlement to Jerusalem – cheaper than a bus ride in Jerusalem!!!
(I know this myself – I’ve confirmed it.)
We crossed back at 16:45. A short line of people waiting, two fenced corridors open.
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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