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Abu Dis, Container (Wadi Nar), Sheikh Saed, Silwan, Tue 21.9.10, Morning

Place: Abu Dis / Lazarus gate (formerly The Wicket) Container (Wadi Nar) Sheikh Sa'ed Silwan
Observers: Nava A., Itzik (visitor), Anat T. (reporting)
Sep-21-2010
| Morning

 
6:50  Sheikh Saed

Not many crossing today, and passage is fast.  We stayed to check whether all the problems were solved for youngsters over 16 crossing to school, in Jabel Mukhaber, but who have not yet received pupils' permits from the administration.

We met only one 12th grade pupil who had not yet received this permit although he had applied, he said, long ago. Elad, the DCO representative who is always willing to help with our inquiries, took the lad's name and details, and also referred us to Amos, the officer for public requests in the civil administration.  We haven't been able to get hold of him yet, probably because of the holidays.  Meanwhile, the lad crossed with a school permit, and we hope this can continue until the matter is resolved.

At the request of a resident of Sheikh Saed, we checked whether a teacher from a school in Jabel Mukhaber, holding a blue ID, can visit a sick pupil living in Sawaharra without a special permit.  The answer, according to the DCO, is negative.  Only Sawaharra residents holding blue ID's (according to a list) may enter or leave the place — no one else.  The answer is to travel from Sheikh Saed to Sawaharra along the road which the security system intends to build in the future…

7:15 Silwan

This morning Silwan is peaceful.  The two pairs of policemen standing near City of David and Wadi Hilwah Street leading to the walls do not interfere with the flowing traffic.  In retrospect, this is the quiet before the storm.
 
8:00  The former Pishpash — Lazarus Crossing

We stopped to look at the architectural monstrosity of the wall splitting the neighbourhood, and then a nun turned to us and told us that the police commander of the Jerusalem zone had told a Vatican delegate at their meeting that the crossing (into which millions had been poured) will be closed at the start of the school year.  The many kindergarten children arriving from Al-Ezariya will also have to acquire special permits and travel through the Olive Terminal.  Too complicated and time-consuming? Let them go to a kindergarten on the other side of the wall… Formerly the crossing would open twice a day, at 8 in the morning and at noon when the kids return, and the nuns would come to take them from the gate to the kindergarten, and vice-versa.  It appears that this arrangement was a serious threat to security… We will submit a protest in this matter to Hanna Barag.

8:30 Wadi Nar

We drove along the new two-lane road from Al-Ezariya which ends where the ascent to Wadi Nar begins, and beyond that  there is no entry for cars.  This means that Palestinians cannot reach Wadi Nar from the north, but must detour and wind through the neighbourhood of Al-Ezariya to reach the checkpoint.

At the checkpoint the soldiers are pleasant, they don't bother the crossing vehicles, at least not while we were there.

On the way back we inquire about the impending closure and, indeed, as every year, the closure will end at the end of Succot, Saturday night, October 2nd.

  • Abu Dis / Lazarus gate (formerly The Wicket)

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    •  

      Abu Dis / Lazarus Checkpoint/Gate (east of the former “wicket”)

      Construction of the wall in the Abu Dis area blocked all the gaps that allowed people to cross from al-Ezariya to the neighbourhoods of Abu Dis and Ras al 'Amud that are located within Jerusalem’s municipal boundary. The Lazarus checkpoint is a gate in the wall adjacent to the Lazarus Monastery. Until 2011 it had a door for pilgrims to al-Ezariya and for the monastery’s kindergarten pupils from al-Ezariya. The crossing is currently closed, but the site has infrastructure for conducting inspections.

  • Container (Wadi Nar)

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    •  Wadi Nar Checkpoint ("Container", "The Kiosk") - a barrier for vehicles in Area B that is regularly manned - east of Abu Dis between Sawahra A Sharqiya and Bethlehem and its daughters. Controls Palestinian movement between the north and south West-Bank. Includes driving routes, access roads, spikes, traffic lights and signs. There is no pedestrian crossing. Open 24 hours a day with random checks enhanced on security alerts. The checkpoint is in Palestinian territory, allowing for separation between the north and the south Palestinian areas when necessary.

      In 2015, the leading road from Azaria to Bethlehem was renovated, as well as the steep and narrow ascent to the Wadi Nar checkpoint, which was dangerously travelled in both directions! The temporary checkpoint was renovated and expanded, and pedestrian traffic was banned. From 2016, traffic travelling from the south bank to Azaria was directed to a one-way road near the Southern Keydar Jewish settlement.

      Machsomwatch shifts visit this far-fetched checkpoint only occasionally.

      (updated to July 2019)

       

  • Sheikh Sa'ed

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    • A checkpoint limited to pedestrians, located on Jerusalem’s municipal boundary.

      The checkpoint sits on the separation fence at the entrance to Sheikh Sa’ad, dividing it from its neighbourhood of Jabel Mukkabar. It’s manned by Border Police soldiers and private security companies and operates 24 hours a day. Palestinians are forbidden to go through, other than residents of Jabel Mukkabar or Sheikh Sa'ad who have permits. Both groups are permitted through only on foot. Residents of East Jerusalem who don’t live in Jabel Mukkabar are also allowed to cross to Sheikh Sa’ad, but not in the opposite direction; they must return through the Sawahira ash Sharqiya checkpoint.

      נבי סמואל. כך נראים המגורים בכפר מובלעת בלי היתרי בנייה או שיפוץ
      Anat Tueg
      May-20-2026
      Nabi Samwil. This is what living conditions look like in an enclave village without building or renovation permits
      View the full album

  • Silwan

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    • Silwan is south of the Old City of Jerusalem and has become one of the main confrontation areas with settlers.

       

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