A large
Israeli military checkpoint that separates Ramallah from
East Jerusalem. The checkpoint, which until the early 2000s consisted of a concrete block in the middle of the road staffed by a few soldiers, is now a large military installation that functions as a quasi-border terminal. The checkpoint underwent numerous expansions beginning in 2001, in conjunction with the building of the
Separation Barrier. starting It bears the same name as the Qalandia refugee camp and town that is located just north of the checkpoint. Only Palestinians with Israeli-issued permits or
Jerusalem IDs can pass through the checkpoint to the Jerusalem side. The Israeli Separation Barrier runs through the town and checkpoint, and Qalandia has been the site of frequent clashes between
Palestinian youth and Israeli forces since the start of the
Second Intifada, including the largest protest in decades when thousands of Palestinians marched from Ramallah to the checkpoint in protest of the 2014 Gaza War. Palestinians passing the checkpoint into Jerusalem must go through a series of cage-like passages of metal bars and turnstiles, with soldiers behind bullet-proof glass giving instructions through a loud speaker and checking IDs and permits. See "
Checkpoint misery epitomizes a Mideast divide: Daily chronicles travails of Palestinians crossing from West Bank to Israel," Ben Hubbard, NBC News, Feb 21, 2010; "
Qalandiya Checkpoint, March 2014: An obstacle to normal life," Amer Aruri, B'tselem, March 19, 2014; and "
The largest West Bank protest in decades," +972mag, July 25, 2014.