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Abu Dis, Container (Wadi Nar), Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal), Thu 11.9.08, Morning

Place: Abu Dis / Lazarus gate (formerly The Wicket) Container (Wadi Nar) Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal)
Tags: Maltreatment
Observers: Yehudit S., Michaela R. (reporting)
Sep-11-2008
| Morning

  


 

Zeitim passage 06:20

The traffic is heavy. There is no line in front of the external carousel.


After 06:30 the school children start coming. Then the their checking point is openned. The stream of pupils gets heavier towards 07:00. The tempo of passage is about six people per minutes, it takes 4-6 minutes to go through.

 
The police officer A. exits towards the parking lot. On his way he stops a driver who does not have his safety belt on, and gets angry at him since he tried to put the belt on and lie. The driver asks if he will put a complaint about it, and the answer is yes, he will get a fine and four points.
 
Y. asked for his phone number, and he said that he does not give any phone numbers. "And if we want your help?" I asked. The answer was: "I am here from 04:30 on in order to take care that everything goes well".

We told him about the woman who had a dead fetus in her womb, and had to get to the hospital, and only after our begging went through. His answer was:"Yes, I did hear about some pregnent woman". He did not want to relate to the humanitarian problem that was created in the chekcpoints and to the functioning of the DCO there, and claimed that the checkpoint operates well.

Wadi Naar  07:35

The traffic of vehicles is very active.


We watch from afar and see a line of about ten cars from Sawahara. There is one lorry standing, and it is being thoroughly checked. After it went through, and two three more cars too, the BP man went, and the cars kept standing. The line gets longer.

After about ten minutes the BP man returns, and all the cars pass quickly. There are a van and a private car coming from Beit Lehem being detained for a short while. One van is being sent back towards Beit Lehem. We spproach the checkpoint and find a long line coming from Beit Lehem. The traffic starts moving. Y.'who walks on the edge of the road aboth the wadi attracts the attention of a BP man who quickly cares about her safety. "The area is not safe because of the works done. One might slip, and it is my responsibiliry". The same caring and responsible BP man is drinking in public. A small girl gets off a van that is being checked, and is vomiting. The BP man gives her mother a glass of water.

In Adumim police station and in Ez-Zaim checkpoint we did not see anyone waiting.

  • 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.

  • 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)

       

  • 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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