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Bethlehem, Fri 16.5.08, Morning
Place:
Bethlehem (300)
Observers: Observers: Lea and Claire
Summary: At Bethlehem even German and Polish men came out with their belts in their hands. Was that an effort to find out whether they had been circumcised?
9:00 Bethlehem: At the Bethlehem checkpoint only one booth was open. We thought it would be deserted because of the closure, but some Palestinians did pass and amongst them were also tourists. When we arrived a group of tourists from India came out. Later a large group of German tourists also arrived; their guide was a German who spoke Hebrew. All the men came out with their belt in their hands, we usually see only Palestinians coming out like that. A group of Polish arrived, they too were arranging their belts as they passed the checkpoint.
Bethlehem (300)
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Located adjacent to the Separation Wall ("Jerusalem Wrap") at the north entrance to Bethlehem, this checkpoint cuts off Bethlehem and the entire West Bank from East Jerusalem, with all the serious implications for health services, trade, education, work and the fabric of life. The checkpoint is manned by the Border police and private security companies. It is an extensive infrastructure barrier and is designated as a border terminal, open 24 hours a day for foreign tourists. Israeli passport holders are not allowed to pass to Bethlehem, and Palestinian residents are not allowed to enter Jerusalem, except those with entry permits to Israel and East Jerusalem residents. Israeli buses are allowed to travel to Bethlehem only through this checkpoint.The checkpoint, which demonstrated harsh conditions of crowding and extreme passage delays for years, started employing advanced electronic identification posts and has upgraded its gates' system as of the middle of 2019 - and conditions improved.Adjacent to the checkpoint, in an enclosure between high walls and another passage, is the historic Rachel's Tomb, which is now embedded within a concrete fortified building. It contains prayer and study complexes for Jews only, as well as a residential complex. updated November 2019 .
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