Container (Wadi Nar)
06/02/2012 ,Afternoon
Chana G., Rahel W. (reporting)
We first visited Anata where both vehicular traffic and pedestrian traffic moved smoothly,.
Wadi Nar
We took our usual route down to Azariah and then proceeded toward Wadi Nar. About 250 meters before reaching the top of the hill, there was a backup of traffic. We noticed that the drivers in front of us had turned off their motors and some were just walking around. After waiting about 15 minutes, we were able to move about 20 meters and then were stopped once again. We waited about another 10to 15 minutes and once again could move just about 4 car lengths. At that point, Chana said that she was going to walk to the checkpoint and see what was happening. While she was gone, the same pattern repeated itself. While we were waiting, some cars just turned around (on this very narrow, curving, dangerous one-way road) and decided to go back down the hill.
Chana reached the checkpoint and saw that the soldiers were very, very slowly checking out each and every vehicle. She asked why there was this terrible delay. The response was that it was none of her business and he didn’t have to tell her anything. She told them that drivers along the way reported waiting up to an hour and he said that he didn’t care if they waited for 5 hours. She said that this was causing unnecessary antagonism at which point he pointed his rifle at her and said she better go back to where she came from or he would have her arrested. Chana said that she came from a home for the elderly and he could go ahead and arrest her. He then retorted that he had the greatest respect for the elderly!
Chana’s approach must have helped somewhat because instead of waiting 15 minutes between moving ahead, the wait was down somewhat,. The meanwhile, I started making calls, but had difficulty getting through to a person and just kept leaving messages. I finally got through to an office and reported on the situation. The message was obviously delivered because within minutes, we were moving at a slow but reasonable pace. In all, it took us over an hour to travel a distance which should have taken 5 minutes.
When we got to the top of the road, there was absolute and total confusion. Vehicles were converging on the checkpoint from 4 directions – from the road that we were on from Azariah, from the south, from Sawahre, and most dangerous, from the one way road (that is supposed to lead in the opposite direction from the checkpoint) in the direction of Qedar. Apparently, drivers saw the blocked up road that we were on and chose to go the wrong way, up the “down” road. As a result that road was also totally blocked up as well and it was impossible for us to turn left and park our car as we usually do. Were it not for several individuals who took it upon themselves to try to sort out the impossible mess, the situation could have really gotten out of hand, At that point, the previously super cautious soldiers simply waved anyone who could extricate himself from the mess through the checkpoint without so much as a glance. One of the self appointed traffic managers managed to stop the traffic and enabled us to circle round and follow the road toward Sawahre.
We have been going to Wadi Naar for at least four years and never saw such a scene. In fact for the past few years, there was rarely anything of significance to report. However yesterday, something really went haywire. It should be noted that this incident took place between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. – not even during an especially busy time of day
30/01/2012 ,Afternoon
Rahel W., (reporting) a guest from Jerusalem
It was a dismal, rainy, foggy afternoon. We went first to the Anata checkpoint in time to see children from the Israeli side returning home to the other side of the checkpoint and vice versa. There were no delays, however it was not pleasant watching the children having to walk over 100 meters to and from the checkpoint in the pouring rain on their way to their respective destinations
When we arrived at Ezariya, we were somewhat apprehensive about taking the new road from the town center toward Wadi Nar because of the weather conditions. Even in good weather, the new road can be treacherous – especially since vehicles of all sizes are known to ignore the one way direction and approach on coming traffic. However, we wanted to get to Wadi Nar and were uncertain about getting there via the confusing roads of Ezariya and Sawahra so we took the new route. PLEASE NOTE! PERHAPS AS A RESULT OF THE INCLEMENT WEATHER, THERE ARE SEVERAL VERY BAD POTHOLES ON THE ROAD – ABOUT HALFWAY UP THE ONEWAY PART OF THE HIGHWAY AND AVOIDED HITTING ONE (WHICH COULD HAVE TORN A TIRE TO PIECES) ONLY AT THE VERY LAST MOMENT!. For those taking that route, please drive slowly and keep your eyes peeled on the road ahead.
There was very little traffic at Wadi Nar and, perhaps because of the weather, we saw no workers going through during the time we were there. Traffic moved quickly and uneventfully.
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10/01/2012 ,Morning
Idit S., Anat T., (reporting)
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06/10/2011 ,Morning
Rachel M., Michaela R. (reporting)
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6:25 Wadi Nar
The soldiers are busy with their own affairs, and drivers go through without delays. We left early in order not to disturb this state of affairs.
6:55 Olive Terminal
Three checking corridors are active, the third, intended for pupils, is the busiest. Pupils entering the area naturally join other lines. Passage seems relatively efficient and fast.
The dispiriting morning peace is shattered suddenly by the loud and angry voice of a female soldier in Hebrew on the loudspeaker. Most of those crossing cannot understand what she says, above all the children. The soldier's fury was directed at a little girl. It seems that the magnometer beeped when the child crossed and the soldier scolded her, asking her to return, but the child did not understand what was required of her until a young man waiting in line told her quietly what to do. Then the soldier remembered that the child had not displayed her permit. She didn't have one, and was sent home angrily
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12/09/2011 ,Morning
Idit S., Anat T. (reporting)
6:50 Sheikh Saed
With the end of Ramadan, the clock has been moved forward and is now identical to Israeli time. At the request of "Bimkom" we are circulating information among our friends in the neighbourhood action committe and passersby to the effect that only 8 days remain until the appeal for due reparations in the wake of land appropriation, starting in 2000, for the construction of the American route, as well as land south of Sheikh Saed for construction of the eastern ring road. We are told that the intention is to dig a tunnel under Sheikh Saed and thus extend the ring road in the direction of the Old City. Clarification is required.
We climb the hill beyond the checkpoint, without (it seems) being noticed by the soldiers. Some 12 youngsters from the Jabel Mukhaber High School are waiting there -- with the usual start-of-school-year stories: they have a permit from school but not from the civil adminstration, and are not allowed to cross. That's how it was during the entire last week (when our shift was cancelled and we missed the start of the school year). The boys report that the permits came through to the school yesterday, and the administration is now sending a car to fetch them and distribute to the pupils who may finally cross to begin their studies. And indeed, 15 minutes later the permits are handed out and all cross. The situation was better this year because the start of the school year does not coincide with High Holidays, and the civil administration was able to issue the permits within a week.
An unpleasant surprise awaited us on exiting: the soldiers had not heard of Machsom-watch and refused to let us cross back to our car in Jabel Mukhaber because we are not residents who are the only ones allowed to cross at this checkpoint. All the rest must cross at Zeitim Crossing. After long consultations with civil administration headquarters we were allowed to cross after 15 minutes. We couldn't find out whether this was deliberate or the result of ignorance.
8:00 Silwan
Work on sewage in Ein Hilwah Str. below. The workers say they will move up to the western part of the neighbourhood later on. Otherwise, plenty of activity around City of David: renovations, readying the entrance, extending access. All this probably in preparation for the new tours during the holidays. An archaeological conference of the Elad lobby, including orthodox rabbis, is taking place today (not here) with the latest discoveries from the City of David. The media, even Ha'aretz, are agog. Not us. How is it possible that a private and politically identified lobby is given rights over some of the most important archaeological heritage of Israel? And why is it that the topmost archaeologists are co-operating instead of protesting?
8:20 Olive Terminal
Sleepy and quiet. Two positions are open. The cute young military policeman says there was much pressure from 5:00 to 8:00, but enough positions were open and things went well.
8:45 Wadi Nar
We get out of the car with trepidation, but there are only a couple of dogs sunk in deep sleep in the checkpoint area. The commander comes up to us to say that there is a grave local alert around the checkpoint, and that we should be careful. In view of this, it's surprising how few of the passing cars are inspected, and the majority cross with no attention from the soldiers. Perhaps they are looking for a very specific profile of persons.
04/07/2011 ,Morning
Idit Shlesinger, Anat Toeg, (reporting)
7:00 Sheikh Saed
Y. of the border police greets us, sitting with his back to the checkpoint and armed with impressive military equipment. He forbids us to climb the hill, to the other side of the checkpoint -- a waste of time since beyond the Sheikh Saed checkpoint it's still Area B, and we've been through this argument and resolved it often in the past.
By the way, there are almost no persons crossing. School children are on vacation and workers would have crossed by now. We call the Emergency Humanitarian Centre and the control centre of the Jerusalem Envelope (both in charge of security in the Envelope area). After a few minutes we are informed that they will talk to the soldiers at the checkpoint, and -- in response to our question -- Y. says "Go". We try to imagine the impression made by a soldier of this ilk on the children crossing, to say nothing of his interaction with the local population... (Hanna B is familiar with this persona and has complained more than once about his conduct at the checkpoints. She will complain again this time.) We conduct a short conversation with the drivers on the hill who express concern about livelihood. They tell us that two elementary schools are operative in Sheikh Saed, and 10 containers receiving supplies from Al-Ezariya, a 30 minute drive away.
7:20 Silwan
Miracles never cease. Many sidewalks have been created after the Supreme Court's order to undo all that had been constructed up to now. Not clear whether this is with the residents' agreement, and not clear whether this is a breach of the court order. At the end of the road there is a checkpoint with 2 policemen and 3 guards. They stop cars, check blue IDs on the computers -- including youths travelling on public transportation -- delaying traffic until the check is concluded. While this is going on we notice a Jewish vehicle bearing down with total disregard for the "no entry" sign. Apparently they have nothing to fear, after all what could happen to them if they're caught.
Anat talks to the Operation Department and the spokesperson of the Jerusalem police about this impromptu checkpoint and the checking of Israeli citizens travelling on public transportation. In answer to the question why here and not, say, in Beit Hakerem or Jaffa Road, the spokesman says that in the northern neighbourhoods, where he lives, this is common practice. This dialogue is not going anywhere and meanhile -- a disturbance. A suspicious bag is found in the vicinity of the policemen. Sharp-eyed Idit tells the soldiers she saw the person who left the bag. He denies. The soldiers summon reinforcements and sappers, ignoring Idit's insistence that she saw the man putting down the bag (a Jew, who has disappeared in the meantime -- they never thought to apprehend him). Twenty minutes later, with traffic at a stand-still, the man in the red shirt reappears out of nowhere with a police cap and a sign saying "drill". The policemen are astounded. Idit is relieved , she was not hallucinating. Needless to say, there is no word of appreciation from the policemen, but we feel we have earned our appellation -- machsom-watch, in more sense than one.
8:20 Wadi Nar (from El-Azariya)
This time we witness a greater number of vehicles observing the signs directing traffic from the checkpoint in the direction of El-Azaria on the one-way route, slightly longer but more secure. The difference is probably due to the presence of a block of wood laid across the road, slowing down the drive into the steep descent. It permits the driver a few seconds in which to lift his eyes and obey the signs indicating the traffic changes. A further narrowing of the passage would be even more helpful.
A young detainee sits at the checkpoint, and after 15 minutes his friend arrives, carrying the ID he had forgotten at home. Both are released. The soldiers ask us, in a tone of surprise, whether we are not afraid to be here. The truth is that the many barking dogs at the checkpoint are scary...
04/05/2011 ,Morning
Idit Shlezinger, Anat Tueg (reporting)
6:45 Sheikh Saed
The usual scene at the checkpoint: few persons, labourers, and schoolchildren crossing first, no line.
A chat with the young men waiting for passengers confirms that the road to Sawaharra and from there to Jerusalem is worse than it was. Last week someone told us there's a clash of interests of owners of blue IDs and the owners of green ones.
7:30 Silwan
There's progress in the construction of side-walks and a parking lot down the road, apparently to enable the opening of two lanes with a small draining trough between them and no possibility of parking on the all too narrow road. We saw no digs such as those we watched during the last year. Has the work of laying down communication cables, sewage pipes, and all the rest along Wadi Hilwah been completed? In the meantime the road below the City of David is one-way in the direction of the Temple Mount, with occasional exceptions for security vehicles.
8:00 Wadi Nar
We saw the new concrete blocks reported by Michaela on the road from the old Kedar to the checkpoint, but there is still a narrow opening for our car to pass into the familiar "donkey country". All the residents of the surrounding area who are unable to travel by car on the road from Ma'aleh Adumim approaching the checkpoint to Kedar tie their donkeys by the roadside. We saw a cute baby donkey next to its mother.
When we arrived at the checkpoint we inquired about the new blockage and were told that Palestinian traffic would be redirected from the Wadi Nar checkpoint to the road leading from Kedar, but the soldiers didn't know how far. Our guess is that because there is now an excellent multi-laned road from Al-Azariah leading to the foothills where the checkpoint is situated, and from where the road to Bethlehem has also been much improved, and because at present the road from Al-Azariah is one-way, steep, and very dangerous, it has been decided to divert traffic flowing to Al-Azariah and from from there to the old route leading to the bedouin encampments. The road which converges in the wadi with the excellent paved road built by the Palestinian Authority with US Aid. It doesn't look as though the Palestinians will be allowed to use the apartheid road to Kedar.
Incidentally, the checkpoint was entirely empty. All five guards manning the c.p. allowed traffic to stream in both directions without any obstruction. We were told that between this c.p. and the one at the entrance to Bthlehem there are no other checkpoints. For the last year Jerusalem Arabs in possession of blue IDs are permitted to travel to Bethlehem unimpeded.
On the way back we entered Kedar and observed this large settlement spreading south-east. On the construction site where new homes were being built throughout the late-lamented "freeze", the cars of Palestinian labourers are parked. Two hilltops separate Kedar from Ma'aleh Adumim and, as is the custom in the land of settlements, a sister suburb begins to grow a stone's throw or two hilltops away, then the space in between is later filled with more homes. This appears to be the case here, and that was what Akiva Eldar reported a year ago. He said the settlers of Kedar were asking to be included in the local administration of the Ma'aleh Adumim zoning plans.
9:30 Az-Za'ayyem
By this hour the traffic jam to the tunnel leading into Jerusalem has dispersed.
10:00 Sheikh Jarrah
No demonstrators and the road is quiet. We picked up Ocha maps updated to June 2010.
17/03/2011 ,Morning
Shosh H., Michaela R. (reporting)
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6:50 Zeitim Terminal
Lively traffic entering and leaving; crossing time 5-7 mins.
7:30 Wadi Nar
Most vehicles are not stopped, but some have to pull up on the side lane for a thorough check, including documents, and inspection of the vehicle. The inspection takes a few minutes, and is conducted in both directions.
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20/12/2010 ,Afternoon
Chana G., Julia W., Rahel W. (reporting)
Wadi Nar
We went to Wadi Nar via Azariah (which continues to build up) and then continued on to the checkpoint. When we arrived, we noticed a car with a Palestinian license plates from the direction of Qedar, heading toward the locked gate. We spoke to the driver (a man) and two female passengers. They were heading toward Bethlehem and said that they had a permit to go through that road. They are all engineers who work for US Aid and were engaged in a project in the Azariah area.
After a wait of a few minutes, three border police came over, checked their papers and opened the gate. The soldiers stayed around for a while to talk to us. They were most cordial and it was clear that they wanted us to think well of them and how they were handling the situation.
In fact, traffic moved very steadily with minimal checks and no detentions.
While we were there, we saw very few workers heading south. Despite all the building in the West Bank, there seem to be fewer workers.
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