Abu Dis, Container (Wadi Nar), Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal), Sheikh Saed, Thu 27.11.08, Morning
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Shabak recruitment day in Wadi Nar
6:25 Sheikh Saed Quiet crossing of workers and pupils
7:15 Zeitim Crossing
Lively traffic, many children We passed the chekcpoint on its eastern side. Under the canopy two persons waited for the DCO. One of them said he had come for fingerprinting. The sign stating the opening hours of the DCO had been removed, and was not replaced by a new sign.
Lane number 1 was assigned to adults, number 3 to children.
The magnometer beeped when we returned through the corridor. We showed the contents of our bags, and there was a great to-do at the sight of Netta's numerous cameras. A security person appeared immediately and the corridor was closed. Netta demanded that people be allowed to cross. In the course of negotiations, we discovered that the security person (in clothes very similar to a police uniform) was in fact a civilian guard without an identifying tag. While Netta told him he had no authority whatsoever, he crowded us against the wall and summoned G., only to disappear.
Gregory took us out of the checkpoint area, and again there was an argument about
permission to film in the area. As on previous occasions, G. claimed that this is a military area and filming is forbidden, and again as on previous occasions he said he would show us the written decree. We are still waiting… "Unfortunately" for the security people, the person who prevented our crossing did not have the slightest evidence of authorisation, not even any sort of permit from the police.
The issue of the guards' authority raises many questions. A determined reistance (including phone calls to various ranks) reveals their weakness. But we must clarify the legality of this issue.
5 vehicles were detained when we arrived, more that the usual. Documents were being returned to some, but a few were separated from their mates and made to stand beside the booth. A military jeep was parked opposite them (we have its license plate number) and next to it an armed man in civilian garments. None of the vehicles are released.
Now and then a shocked Palestinian exits from the jeep, and the armed man calls in another. After his pockets are examined he's invited into the jeep for a friendly chat. I could not believe my eyes: is this how, in broad daylight, one or another of the shadowy security organisations recruits Palestinians?
Things cleared up when a jeep with a DCO officer appeared. Netta complained about the prolonged delays caused by the Shabak activity. He replied that they "do not interfere with their work." He drove his jeep up to the Shabak jeep, and parked so as to conceal it. Like hiding a boulder with a fig leaf — sad joke.
Palestinians leaving the jeep reported that they had been interrogated about their activities,
their places of residence, their destinations, their families, and which of their friends were active in Fatah or Hamas. The delays were indeed long, 45-60 minutes. The occupants of one of the taxis were a lawyer and a judge from the Palestinian Authority, hurrying to the courts. At 9:10 the last of those interrogated leaves the jeep, agitated and angry. The jeep leaves, not before stopping in front of our car (…?).
Intensive work is in progress at the checkpoint itself. Lanes are opened or closed with insufficient direction of traffic, and no signs. Most of the time traffic both north and south is going though one lane, with long lines each time on either side.
Az-Zayem Numerous Palestinian minibuses are crossing. Contrary to previous occasions, passengers are not required to disembark, and the checks were conducted by a military policeman and a guard. On one of the minibuses the guard sat down next to a young woman and did not leave even when the military policeman had finished checking. Was he harrassing the passenger?  An ambulance from Jericho waited for the arrival of an "Israeli" ambulance. The patient was transferred from stretcher to stretcher in full view of all — not clear whether this contributed to his welfare. The construction of the Wall in the south-eastern part of Anata continues apace . |
8:10 Wadi NarAbu 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.
Avital CFeb-27-2026Jerusalem, Damascus Gate: Crowd rushing to prayer
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