'Anata, Qalandiya, Tue 13.9.11, Morning

Place:

Qalandiya

'Anata-Shu'afat

Tags:

Youngsters and students

Crowding

Observers:

Ina Friedman, Drora Pereg, Nava Jenny Elyashar (reporting)

Sep-13-2011

Morning

Translator: Charles K.

6:00 About 200 men waiting outside in three long lines. About 50 men and women wait at the closed humanitarian gate. All five lanes inside are open and about 30 people wait on each of them.

We meet two female Norwegian volunteers in the plaza; they’d arrived at 5:00 AM and say that the crossing went pretty quickly.

The humanitarian gate opened right after we arrived and all 50 people who were waiting entered. The gate stayed open; it wasn’t clear whether because of a problem with the lock or in order to ease the crossing. During the course of 30 minutes, an additional 175 people went through the humanitarian crossing, including 30 women and 20 children.

The revolving gates info-icon also opened right when we arrived, and then every 5 minutes. About 300 people went through the revolving gates in the course of half an hour, until the line completely disappeared. Nor did there seem to be any congestion on the inspection lines inside.

A man who arrived at 6:10 told us over the phone that he exited on the Israeli side at 6:45 – 35 minutes total.

6:20 People cross very quickly. “Only” 60 men are now on line at the humanitarian gate, which hasn’t closed. People continue crossing individually as soon as they get to the shed.

6:30 300 people went through the revolving gates and 220 through the humanitarian gate during the half hour we were at the checkpoint – 17-18 per minute.

During the same period, about 600 people went through the five inspection lanes (including people who were inside when we arrived). On average (by a rough estimate), it took a quarter of a minute per person for the inspection

There was no line at all when we left, and about ten people waited inside at each inspection lane.

6:40 The vehicle checkpoint is crowded; you can’t see the end of the line.

We decided to go to the children’s plaza at Anata. We took the shorter route, via Hizma checkpoint and Pisgat Ze’ev. We got stuck in morning traffic on Route 60, when everyone is going south to Jerusalem (Israelis), or toward Jericho/Bethlehem (Palestinians) at the same time.

The trip, which would ordinarily take 15 minutes with no traffic, took us 50 minutes this time!

Anata checkpoint

7:30 There’s a large plaza just past the Anata checkpoint ; school transportation for all the pupils from the neighborhood leaves from there. The scene – of pupils streaming into the plaza and then onto their buses – is amazing. Whenever we’re able to get there between 7:15-7:45, we hurry to the most rational part of the occupation (in relative terms). Today we arrived right on time.

Some of the 3000 pupils who travel to school each morning from Anata have already left, but about 2000 are still wandering around the area, representatives of the neighborhood committee looking out for their safety, overseeing the flow of buses into the plaza, sending the children to the right buses – as well as making sure they behave.

The committee chairman, who’s there every morning and every afternoon, explained that they make sure the children aren’t rowdy, won’t fight with each other, and in particular that they don’t throw stones at police and military vehicles.

7:50 There are almost no more children in the plaza - 2-3 more buses and then even the latecomers will be on their way to get an education. We spoke to the chairman of the committee who told us the new checkpoint has been under construction here for two years and is scheduled to open very soon. He’s worried about problems, because people might have trouble getting used to the new, computerized checkpoint. We asked him to call us ahead of time when he finds out when it will open, and we’ll try to come and help as much as we can.

We looked around. Many giant new buildings have been constructed on the hill. The chairman says the price of a spacious apartment in the new buildings is about ten percent of the price of a similar apartment in Jerusalem. Unbelievable. The materials alone would be more expensive!

Our interlocutor amazed us as we were about to part when he cited a Hebrew phrase whose meaning many young Israelis wouldn’t have known had they seen it on the university entrance exam: “How long shall the wicked exult?”

Location Description

Shu'afat-Anata

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The Shu’afat checkpoint is located in the northern part of East Jerusalem at the exit from the village of Anata and the Shu’afat refugee camp, which are located in the area annexed to Jerusalem in 1967. The refugee camp borders the Shu’afat neighborhood to the west, Pisgat Ze’ev to the north, the French Hill neighborhood to the south and the planned expansion of Ma’aleh Adumim to E-1 in the east. It was established in 1966 for 1948 refugees from the West Bank and was populated after the Six Day War by persons who had been expelled from the Jewish Quarter. Today its population comprises some 25,000 people holding blue ID cards and some 15,000 people with Palestinian ID cards. The camp lacks adequate infrastructure and services, and suffers from poverty, neglect and overcrowding. All its buildings are connected to the public electricity and water infrastructure, but not all are connected to the sewer system. The camp’s services are provided by UNRWA, except for those such as health clinics and transportation of pupils to schools in Jerusalem. In 2005, the Israeli High Court of Justice rejected a suit by the residents requesting that the route of the separation fence be drawn such that the camp would remain on the Israeli side, but conditioned its approval of the route on the establishment of a convenient and rapid crossing facility for the inhabitants of the neighborhood, most of whom are residents of Jerusalem.

A temporary checkpoint operated there until December, 2011. It was extremely congested during rush hours, and dangerous for pedestrians (especially children) because of inadequate safety provisions. The new checkpoint was inaugurated south of the old one, for public and private transportation and for pedestrians, intended solely for the residents of the camp – holders of blue ID cards, and those with Palestinian ID cards who possess appropriate permits. There are five vehicle inspection stations at the checkpoint, and two for pedestrians (one of which is currently closed) where scanners have been installed but are not yet operating. According to the army, representatives of government agencies will also be present to provide services to residents of the neighbourhood. The pedestrian lanes are very long, located far from the small parking lots, and accessible through only a single revolving gate.

Dec-20-2023

Anat Tueg

Anata: new traffic circle at the exit junction

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Qalandiya Checkpoint

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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)

Apr-5-2024

Tamar Fleishman

Qalandiya: Four women from Nablus are refused crossing the checkpoint to pray

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