Abu Dis, Container (Wadi Nar), Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal), Mon 15.6.09, Afternoon
From 3:00 till 6:00 PM
Since we had met at a different venue we approached the OliveTeminal from
French Hill and not via the Mt. Scopus tunnel.
We got a good view of the continued construction of the wall around A-Zaim and inspected the still
closed off entrance to the ‘sunken’ road near the Border Police Hqs where a
civilian guard eyed us very suspiciously and asked what we were doing.
The Olive Passage, which had been overcrowded one morning this week looked
almost empty.
The line of vehicles approaching Maaleh Adumim from the direction of El
Azariya was extremely long and apparently drivers have been told in no
uncertain terms that they are not allowed to try and squeeze in, because
they all waited patiently to let the stream of settlers returning from work
to Male Adumim pass. We decided to check the length of the line on our way
back, from the Container, by which time it had evaporated.
We saw the start of the road-widening mentioned, as well as the recent
construction in the new neighborhoods of Kedar, but also some additional new
construction in Kedar-South.
It was hot at the Wadi Nar CP,
a new commander told us to get off the ‘sterile’ area between the parking lot and the road, but allowed us to come quite close to the CP.
A few yellow transporters had been held up on their
way to Bethlehem, but their papers were returned to them within a few
minutes. On the way to Jerusalem a bus was held up and it took almost 15
minutes, from the time of our arrival until it was sent on its way. It had
blocked our view to the bench on which a young man had been sitting. We had
no idea for how long, but after we had looked at him for a few minutes a
soldiers brought him some water.
We received no satisfying reply to our question re the young man, but the commanders started frantically to make phone calls and after another fifteen minutes he was summoned to the booth
to sign something and receive a white slip (presumably for an appointment
with a ‘captain’) and sent back towards Bethlehem.
We drove back via the Mount of Olives and wondered at the huge Israeli flag
over two buildings along the road, the Pishpash, which looked deserted.
The construction in Ras El-Amud to enlarge the ‘Maaleh Zeitim’ settlement is
continuing apace. We drove via the Old Bethlehem Road and the Road of the
Americas and again overlooked the new construction site of a settlement in
the valley before reaching Sheikh Saed.
Sheikh Sad
We had never been there at this time of the day and found many cars parked along the road all the way to the
CP. Apparently all workers had already returned home and there were no more
Palestinians coming through the CP.
Having seen too much ‘natural growth’ construction for one day, we decided
not to look at Nof Zion in Jebel Mukabr.
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.
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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)
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Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal)
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A large checkpoint/crossing to the area of a-Tur, Abu Dis and the Old City; only for pedestrians. Located on Jerusalem’s municipal boundary.
One of the major crossings in Jerusalem’s central sector. It is located on the separation fence between the northern portion of the al-Ezariya neighborhood and the neighborhood of a-Tur and the rest of East Jerusalem. It is manned by Border Police soldiers and private security companies and operates 24 hours a day. Palestinians are forbidden to go through, other than permanent residents of East Jerusalem (holders of blue ID cards) and holders of work and commercial permits who are allowed through only on foot.
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