Bethlehem (300)
9:00 to 10:30
Very cold and yet people still pass to Jerusalem and return to Bethlehem.
Only one window is open. Most of the time two women soldiers are in the window but only one is operating. There is no need for more since there aren’t many people. One can hardly hear the soldier: it is all done with a hand and head gestures, but with a smile and a kind of courtesy. Still she doesn’t let anyone pass without placing the finger on the biometric identification device, rubbing and attempting once again, and even replacing the right index finger with the left hand finger, but everything quietly. People comply and leave. No one was detained, no one was rejected.
No senior officer came out into the hallway; there were no soldiers who went on patrol. No representative of the ecumenical. Cold and silence.
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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