'Anata-Shu'afat, Qalandiya

Place:

Qalandiya

'Anata-Shu'afat

Tags:

Crowding

Observers:

Chana S., Ronit D. (reporting); Translator: Judith Green

Dec-16-2015

Morning

A quiet morning in the pedestrian lane at Qalandiya. Crowded, but not unreasonably, at the vehicle crossing in Shuafat.

Qalandiya

We arrived at about 5:15, after parking on the Israeli side and walking. It was still cold and dark. Outside, there was already a hoard of people and cars - particularly transporters and buses from East Jerusalem. Inside, 5 stations were already open and the lines were short. Women were allowed to join the line at the entrance to the enclosures. Later, every time that the turnstiles at the end of the enclosures opened, the lines at the enclosures shortened. H., our acquaintance, and others reported that on the other days of the week until now, there was a lot of crowding at the checkpoint. Today, the birds were energetically singing and everything was quiet at the pedestrian crossing. We could hear impatient honking from the vehicles checkpoint.

At about 6, no lines. Everyone who arrived went in and through the turnstile that was still open. We wondered if this was a result of the events of the night - according to media reports, there were arrests at night in the Qalandiya refugee camp, during which there were 2 car ramming attempts which ended in the death of the Palestinians and the injuring of 3 soldiers (apparently from friendly fire). Maybe this caused some people to stay home from work today.

At 6 there was a change in the shift of the soldier at the aquarium. Two policemen came with the new soldier. We joined the line next to one of the stations, through the open turnstile at the end of the enclosure. We went through in a few minutes and decided to travel to Shuafat to see what was happening there.

Shuafat

Since we finished our morning shift at Qalandiya so early, we traveled to Shuafat and decided to check out the situation at the crossing with our car. We got there about 6:25. When we approached, we saw a Border Guard with a dog approach the checkpoint. We went in and went around the traffic circle in order to join the line of vehicles which were leaving. There are vehicles, particularly motor cycles, which travel against the line of traffic in the circle. At the entrance to the traffic circle, towards the checkpoint, there is someone trying to organize the flow of traffic. It seems that the school buses at this hour have not yet entered the traffic. We saw the buses standing on the side, apparently the students hadn't arrived yet.

After the traffic circle there is the line for the checkpoint. The rules here forbid the vehicles to approach the checkpoint. There are 2 lines in each one of which there are 3 lanes which change to one lane at the checkpoint. The cars are head to tail and proceed very slowly. Then they stand at a distance and are allowed to proceed only after the vehicle in front of them has gone through. Every once in a while, motor cycles arrive and go in front. There are 3 inspection stations in operation. When our turn arrived and we began our approach, a bicyclist went past us. He approached the checkpoint with his blue ID in his hand. The Border Guard asked us to move back and wasn't satisfied with our moving just a little. We were forced to go back to the place we were supposed to be waiting. Only then did he finish his inspection of the document of the bicycle rider and we were allowed to move forward. When we got to him, he said, "I understand that you are not from here. Here, you wait at a distance." To our good fortune, he "forgave" us for this serious breach of the rules and was even satisfied with checking only one of our IDs.

While we were waiting, we looked in the direction of the pedestrian line. We didn't see any lines that were stringing along outside, but it was impossible to know from outside what was happening within the building (our experience from a few weeks ago taught us that the situation there is harsh). Next time, maybe we will try again to go through on foot, in order to observe if there is any improvement since the meeting of our colleagues with the officers there.

Beyond the checkpoint there are a lot of people and cars. The passage through the checkpoint in our car took about 15 minutes. It seems as though we arrived before the rush hour (at Qalandiya at that hour it would have taken us longer in the car). The traffic jam afterward, until we got through the junction at French Hill, took us longer...In any case, it was a reasonable morning and we returned to the city center at about 7:30.

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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