Qalandiya, Mon 7.5.12, Afternoon

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Natanya G. and Phyllis W. (reporting)

May-7-2012

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Afternoon

15:30: Unbelievably, 3 passageways were operating at Qalandiya with only a few people waiting in line. No one was waiting to enter the DCO. We stood in line in Passageway 4 and within 5 minutes we were inside. A female soldier (who looked very tired) was checking the documents of the people passing through. Sitting next to her was a (male) soldier solving a crossword puzzle. He paid no attention at all to the people or to the computer screen showing the contents of peoples’ packages (which begs the question of what the screening contributes to the safety of Israeli citizens.)

We returned to the Palestinian side of the CP. At 16:10 we noticed an ambulance standing in the northern square. When the Jerusalem ambulance arrived on the other side of the CP, the PA ambulance was called into the CP and there it stood for 10 minutes while nothing happened. In the end we called headquarters and asked them to facilitate passage of the ambulance. After 2 minutes it was allowed through. And just then another PA ambulance arrived, an ICU vehicle with lights flashing and siren screaming. The driver drove right into the CP. We were sure he would have no trouble, so we went back to the pedestrian CP to see what was happening. It was now 4:25 and rush hour had begun. But that apparently is of no consequence to those operating the CP – at this point only 2 passageways were operating and the number of people waiting had grown to about 30 in each line. There were many students with books in hand as well as quite a number of people returning home with full shopping bags. All were tired and just wanted to get home, but the soldiers were working more slowly and the lines continued to grow longer.

At 4:30 we saw that the ICU ambulance had been moved back to the northern square. Its lights were still flashing but the man with the heart attack was forced to wait. The Jerusalem ambulance arrived within minutes and the soldiers began checking all the papers and then another ambulance arrived, but the PA ambulance was still waiting. At 4:40 he was still stuck in the CP. We called headquarters and once again the ambulance was on its way in 2 minutes and the patient was transferred to the Jerusalem vehicle.

A woman of about 50 was refused entry to Jerusalem in one of the passageways. She came out, got in line in the second passageway and began talking with those around her, asking for advice. It seems she lives in the Shuafat neighborhood of Jerusalem and had gone to Ramallah to do some shopping. Only on her way home did she discover that her I.D. card was not in her purse! What does one do in such a situation? Anyone can make a mistake! We dialed all the numbers of the CP officers that we had, but not one answered the phone. So we called headquarters once again, but the soldier wouldn’t put us through to any of the officers. We offered to take the woman to Hizmeh CP and talk to the officer there (her Israeli I.D. number was emblazoned on her medical card). She really didn’t look like a terrorist, just miserable! In the end the woman decided she would rather try her luck with one of the Arab taxi drivers who promised to deliver her for a “symbolic” amount (we heard them negotiating around NIS 60). So we parted ways.

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-5-2024

Tamar Fleishman

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

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