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Abu Dis, Container (Wadi Nar), Mon 20.12.10, Afternoon

Place: Abu Dis / Lazarus gate (formerly The Wicket) Container (Wadi Nar)
Observers: Chana G., Julia W., Rahel W. (reporting)
Dec-20-2010
| Afternoon

 

Wadi Nar
 
 
We went to Wadi Nar via Azariah (which continues to build up) and then continued on to the checkpoint.  When we arrived, we noticed a car with a Palestinian license plates from the direction of Qedar,   heading toward the locked gate.  We spoke to the driver (a man) and two female passengers.  They were heading toward Bethlehem and said that they had a permit to go through that road.  They are all engineers who work for US Aid and were engaged in a project in the Azariah area. 
 
 
After a wait of a few minutes, three border police came over, checked their papers and opened the gate.  The soldiers  stayed around for a while to talk to us.  They were most cordial and it was clear that they wanted us to think well of them and how they were handling the situation.
 
In fact, traffic moved very steadily with minimal checks and no detentions.
 
While we were there, we saw very few workers heading south.  Despite all the building in the West Bank, there seem to be fewer workers.
 
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  • Abu Dis / Lazarus gate (formerly The Wicket)

    See all reports for this place

    •  

      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)

    See all reports for this place
    •  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)

       

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