Qalandiya
05.15. On the Israel side, a very large group at prayer.
There was hardly any line. The first turnstile was open and people entered as soon as they arrived. A bit later, as traffic increased, the soldier worked all three turnstiles and let in many people in at each turn.
At 6.10 a D.C.O. officer opened the humanitarian gate. He closed it and departed at about 6.45, as there was no need for it.
A man approached us to ask for help for his brother who is banned entry. We gave him instructions for contacting Sylvia’s group. Gratifying to know that Machsomwatch is recognized as the address…
The beigel seller was absent – not ill, though, we were happy to hear from the owner of the falafel stall.. The bakery supplying his beigels is closed today. The coffee kiosk is now installed (with improvements) at the far end of the drive near the busy parking-lot.
We could not see any sign of progress in building the new extension (not from outside, at least).
We entered a cage at 6.55 and would probably have been outside within ten minutes. But, just as we joined a short line at a checking station, the lights went out. We were stuck for 30 minutes with the line inevitably getting longer. Of course, the authorities did not make any announcement about the cause, about how long the delay was likely to last, or heaven forbid to apologise for inconvenience! We were amazed at the calm response of everyone waiting (too resigned to complain?), as opposed to us privileged Israelis. After half an hour, we phoned our angel Hanna Barag to see if she could clarify the situation, and in the middle of the conversation the lights miraculously went on!
We noticed that a few of the women had to remove their shoes and pass them through the screening machine.
We were waved through. In the end it took us 45 minutes to pass..
This happened after I had left Chana. Not everything is black at the checkpoint.
The zips of my rucksack had broken while we were in line and in the cold and the dark I had tried to stuff everything into a smaller pocket.. I had just got home when realized that my wallet was not there. The phone rang…..what on earth did they want from me from the swimming pool, I thought in the middle of all this. The young woman, Nur, at the pool said that a man had phoned her from Ramle of all places and said that his worker who came through Qalandiya had picked up a wallet that morning with over 1000 shekel in it and brought it to him. They saw that there was a card for the pool in the wallet. He phoned the pool. The pool phoned me. I was speechless…for once. Needless to say I thanked and thanked both he and his worker.
I phoned Ina in Rechovot who went and picked it up and also gave the worker something from me which he was unwilling to take but she said that I had insisted. Out of despair comes hope.
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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