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Bethlehem, Wed 3.2.10, Afternoon

Place: Bethlehem (300)
Tags: Hitches at checkpoints
Observers: Ruthie E R, Brenda H
Feb-03-2010
| Afternoon

The day was rainy and cold with strong winds. 

15.30 
Bus loads of twenty or more workers returning home arrived and went through the inspection booths smoothly and quickly. The soldiers and policeman directed Palestinians efficiently. 
An older man was waiting for something or someone. He told us that his permit had been taken from him by one of the soldiers in the morning when he came for work and he was waiting for it to be returned as he had been promised. 
Eventually, after 40 minutes of waiting, of asking an officer, a policeman and a soldier, one permit was returned to him. But it turned out that the second permit was mislaid so there were more delays. Finally, after an hour, they found the permit and an officer explained politely that it was not the correct paper for entry to Israel. However, the man was allowed to go through.

  • Bethlehem (300)

    See all reports for this place
    • 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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