Qalandiya

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Ronit Dahan Ramati, Natanya Ginsburg (translating)

Jul-26-2017

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Morning

We arrived about 5.30 at Qalandiya. We parked and went on foot to the Palestinian side. We were happy to see that there were hardly any queues and when the carousels were opened that the cages also at the end were completely emptied. All 5 windows were open. Both the baigel and the cake sellers were in their usual place. Each cake one shekel. Where the kiosk of Muhammed stood is now some sort of counter which today is open. There is a hot water container and apparently he makes coffee, although he does not seem to have many buyers. We went out to the closed parking lot to see what was new, and discovered that they had built a white tin fence next to the outer wall of the shed. Apparently they are about to begin construction.

A white metal fence - preparation for building

Photo:

Ronit Dahan-Ramati

We came back inside. The soldier in the aquarium allowed a few people inat a time, but he often opened the turnstiles. The lines were short and remained inside the shed. Around 6 am theb begin to lengthen. We went to sit on one of the benches that remained on the edge of the shed. Suddenly we felt a movement behind us. We turned around and found a young boy among the benches. Unlike workers who take an impromptu nap everyplace, he was equipped with a mattress, pillow and blanket and continued the night's sleep. Later it turned out that this was the son of the cake vendor.

A child asleep among the boxes

Photo:

Ronit Dahan-Ramati

People arrived and approach the humanitarian gate, but when they discovered that it was not opened, they joined the regular line which was advancing rapidly today. At about 6:15, a woman soldier arrived to relief the previous one.. She did not immediately open the turnstiles, and the lines in front of the inspection posts were already completely emptied , but many people started crowding the entrance to the carousels. The DCO representatives was late arriving , but at about 6:20 PM, two officers from the DCO arrived. One of them seemed to explain to the other what was going on and held a key in his hand, but they did not open the gate. Those waiting said that they were waiting for the police. After a few minutes they left. A short while later, police officers and security guards arrived with one of the officers, and this time they went to check the people waiting at the gate and opened it.

At 6:40, we joined the short lines and we passed in about 15 minutes. A couple with a baby info-icon who had waited at the humanitarian gate for a long time had encountered a problem at the inspection posts. The father went to talk to the policewoman and the security guard. The baby seemed to be crying and the father gave it to the mother, who was very thin and held the baby away from her body, trying to shake him and calm him down. She also seemed to need a hug ...

Location Description

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-17-2024

Tamar Fleishman

Qalandiya: Ibrahim and behind him Abu-Abdallah

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