Abu Dis, Container (Wadi Nar), Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal), Sheikh Saed, Sun 6.12.09, Morning
Garbage is overflowing in the garbage tips of Jabel Mukhaber. Hardly a soul at the checkpoint — it's Sunday, no schools open at Jabel Mukhaber. Workers have either been and gone or not yet arrived.
6:45 Zeitim Terminal
Lively traffic but no crowding — we drive past without stopping.
7:30 Wadi Nar
A traffic jam en route uphill to the checkpoint. Documents for 2 transits are being checked. Within 30 minutes the congestion loosens, although transits and even buses are stopped to check documents. The checks are quick, c. 10 minutes.
Nasser Rawi, now without a protest tent, looks tired and depressed. He sleeps outdoors, opposite his childhood home now taken over by settlers. The nights are very cold. The tent has been destroyed five times to date. Two international volunteers are sitting with him but they don't participate in the conversation. Nasser is disappointed in the weak solidarity of intimidated neighbours. All await further developments. The settlers have a permit to occupy the house (unoccupied for 10 years), now slated for demolition, in the courtyard of the Kurdi family. The courtyard is filthy.
Two armed guards are present, as well as some "hilltop youth." (Na'arei Hagvaot). The matter is under consideration by the High Court, but Nasser says the Israeli system of justice clearly inclines against Palestinians, even the High Court in whose impartiality Israelis continue to believe.
But Nasser says he's still optimistic, although he also foresees the imminent eruption of a third intifada in Jerusalem, more violent than the previous one. He tells us his family owned land in Saraphand (today's Tzrifin), and that he still has a Land Registry Office document for two empty dunams which he intends to claim from the state. After 30 minutes he has visitors from Tantur and we part.
Please do stop by whenever you can, whether on your shift or not, to identify and support; the man is almost entirely alone in his struggle.
We look for the illegal resident in her home. It is 8 years since her husband submitted a request for family reunion.
We should like to know whether she has made the appropriate inquiries with the depot for civil rights. Our inquiry reveals that she must submit such a request via a lawyer, and even though such permits are no longer issued, submitting the request could act as a warranty against her eviction from her home. She is not at home, and we leave a note asking her to get in touch. We shall continue tracking this affair.
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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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.
Tamar FleishmanMay-27-2025Beit Hanina: The gazing crow
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