Al Nashshash, Beit Ummar, Bethlehem, Etzion DCL, Nabi Yunis, Wed 4.3.09, Morning
06:45 AM, Bethlehem Checkpoint: when we arrive we are told that a large crowd is waiting on the Bethlehem side, and that those waiting in the queue are not allowed to enter. Inside, only four inspection stations are open, and there are very long queues. We phone the humanitarian center to ask for an additional station to be opened, the speed improves and the queues shorten. There aren’t any problems with the fingerprint machine.
07:20 AM, Al Nashshash: little traffic and no-one asks for help.
07.45 AM, Etzion DCL: only about thirty people are waiting in the area of the DCL. To our surprise, the door is opened at 07.50 and everyone goes in. There are only a few GSS-denied people, in spite of the announcement that the security restrictions are about to be lifted for the inhabitants of several villages in the area. Most of the people have come to request renewal of their magnetic cards. One of the Palestinians tells us that he was fined for a traffic offence, paid the fine and received an approval from the police, yet he is not allowed to pass through the checkpoint and he is told that he is on the restricted list. We advise him to check the reason why he is restricted with the DCO, and if its because of the GSS he should ask Sylvia for help.
08:30 AM, Nabi Yunis: the gasoline pumps that were removed from the gas station haven’t been returned and the area has become a sort of garage for vehicle repair. A Palestinian tells us that his wife is Israeli and that several years ago he submitted an application for the family to be reunited but it still hasn’t been approved.. While we are speaking to him, a Hummer arrives and the soldiers stop a taxi, check the passengers’ papers, the luggage compartment, and the inside of the car. No-one is arrested.
09:15 AM, Beit Ummar: we visit Abu Nassim, who tells us that the previous night soldiers entered his three-story house, assembled all the fourteen family members in a small room on the roof and confiscated their telephones. When one of the children had to go to the lavatory, a soldier accompanied him with his drawn weapon. Abu Nassim tells us that the soldiers remained in the house until midnight and only then freed the family. During the past week they locked-up the family four times. They didn’t show any search-warrant or authorization. We passed this information to the “Yesh – Din” (There is a law) organization. We meet a Palestinian who asks us to take a payment to his lawyer in Jerusalem.
A-Nashshash
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A-Nashshash
Junction on Road 60 from leading to the southern outskirts of al-Khader, to Salomon pools and to Bethlehem. Until 2015, a blockade at the junction prevented the passage of vehicles from the south (from Hebron) to Bethlehem and from there to the north of the West Bank and vice versa, and a small market developed at the junction, with taxis serving both directions on two sides of the blockage. Until 2015, Members of MachsomWatch police reports team would come to the scene to receive and return traffic violations reports for payment (possible only in Israel).- from Palestinians without a entrance permit to Israel. There is usually no military or police supervision i n place.
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Beit Ummar
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Beit Ummar
The Gush Etzion-Hebron road - which is the main axis of the southern Hebron Mountains - passes through the boundaries of the village. Many incidents of stone throwing occurred on this section of road. There is a checkpoint at the entrance to the village.
In March 2006, a 25-dunam land seizure order was issued around the settlement for the purpose of establishing a "special security area" (SHBM) and a warning fence around the nearby settlement, Carmei Tzur. In April 2019, 401 dunams of the land of the villages of Beit Omer and Halhul were expropriated for the purpose of paving a road that bypasses the house of Omer to the east. Demonstrations are held by the villagers against the seizure of land with the participation of Palestinian, Israeli and international activists.
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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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Etzion DCO
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serves residents of Bethlehem and surrounding villages who need magnetic cards, work permits for Israel, permits for one-time entry for religious or health reasons, various police permits, etc.
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Nabi Yunis
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Nabi YunisA meeting place at the junction of Route 60 and the road leading to the eastern entrance to Hebron.
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