10:30 till 12:30

The way to Umm Tuba from the Lieberman Road across Har Homa

Cars exiting from Sur-Baher are checked, usually only the documents, but we saw that one car was thoroughly investigated and its motor-cap was opened before it was released . The cars entering Sur-Baher proceed without hindrance.

The entrance to Sur-Baher from Ramat Rachel

The road is completely closed off by concrete blocks. Next to the road leading to the Olive Park there are three soldiers sitting down, cars are unable to enter or exit. According to the soldiers a bulldozer arrives in the morning when the school busses come and removes the concrete blocks for an hour or an hour and a half , and then returns them.  In the afternoon it returns and removes them again so that the busses with the children can come back. We also observed the back-to-back transportation of goods  from a bus which had arrived from Jerusalem into a car which came from inside Sur-Baher.

The exit from Sur-Baher to the North towards Armon Hanatziv

The road is only blocked half-way; cars enter freely but those leaving are checked. We drove up on Barazani Street above Olei Hagardom Street. The road is totally closed off by blocks and the closure has been in effect already for two weeks according to a man who crossed on foot next to the concrete blocks. Passage for pedestrians is possible; there are no soldiers nor any checkpoint position.

On the road beyond Government House and the Tolerance Statue next to the Border Police Camp is a Checkpoint with many soldiers and civilian guards. When we arrived there were lines of cars on both sides, because a bulldozer was in the process of removing concrete blocks which apparently had formed part of the checkpoint. After the job was done traffic moved , but cars from Jebel Mukabr were checked . We noted that a policeman was trying unsuccessfully to find fault with a car window, because after a few minutes he released the driver with his car.

The exit from Abu Tor on Naomi Street

There was a checkpoint with three soldiers. There were only a few cars and they moved freely.

The atmosphere at the checkpoints was pretty relaxed and the soldiers were bored and ready to talk with us. Mainly cars were blocked and pedestrians certainly were able to find ways to get out of their neighborhoods only at the checkpoint at the Border Police camp (Oz) we met with violent talk and unpleasant shouting towards us.

Towards the end of our shift we noted that the road towards CP 300 was closed off almost entirely by police fences as if for a special manifestation (the day of Rachel’s death coincides with the date of Rabin’s murder – translator’s note).