Qalandiya
Tear Gas used on Traffic Jam
All five checking stations were open when we arrived at 5:30 a.m. and the lines, which extended into the parking lot, were moving very slowly.
At 6:00 we phoned the DCO to recommend that a representative come out to open the Humanitarian Gate, where people had already been lined up for some time. An officer and soldier arrived about 10 minutes later, checked the permits, opened the gate, and did so again each time a number of people had gathered by it.
Meanwhile, between 6:00 and 6:07, we heard loud noises coming from outside the pedestrian checkpoint and soon discovered – through people entering the checkpoint – their source: Tear gas was being used to sort out the traffic jam (!), and pedestrians on their way to the checkpoint fell victim to the vapors. On our way out to witness this activity (which had come to an end), we met a charming young man employed by the Israeli Ministry of Transport whose job is to monitor the traffic through the pedestrian checkpoint and report on how long it takes to cross it. He explained that the tear gas was being fired by soldiers to deter traffic headed toward the vehicle checkpoint from blocking the opposite lane (see report of 8.11.16). We told him that MachsomWatch has been charting the time it takes to go through the checkpoint for years, and we are glad that the government of Israel has now joined us in this effort.
For example, at 6:50 the EAPPI activist who joined us this morning told us (after speaking to her colleague stationed at the exit) that it was taking people some 45 minutes to traverse the checkpoint. At this time (6:50), we began following a young man at the end of one of the lines and found that it took him 30 minutes to enter the checking station. Finally, at 7:20, we joined one of the lines (which were contained within the shed by then), and it took us 25 minutes to exit the checkpoint.
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 FleishmanFeb-27-2026Qalandiya: On the way to prayer
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