Abu Dis, Container (Wadi Nar), Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal), Thu 18.9.08, Morning
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Zeitim passage 06:20 Western side
Active traffic. There are three windows open. The tempo is about 8 people a minute.
08:10 Eastern side
The traffic is flowing, it is mainly children crossing from both sides.
man who had arrived too early to the DCO wanted to exit the area, but there was no soldier inside the shed and he is trapped inside. ONly after we rang the bell for a long time the soldier arived. The same person, an inhabitant of Abu Dis who had arrived yesterday in order to get a magnetic card at the DCO. They told him to come today. Two years ago he was caught in Jerusalem without papers (illegally), and since then he was told that he is prevented from getting permission to enter. At 08:30 he entered again and emerged twenty minutes later. He was told that the DCO is closed today. He should be back on Monday or Wednesday. The question is – what willl they tell him when he returns?
07:10 Wadi Naar As we left Ezariye we noticed very few vehicles there, not characteristic to this hour. From afar the checkpoint seemed to be empty, but as we approached we noticed the beginning of a very heavy traffic, and noticed a very long line from Beit Lehem (tens of cars). The cars go through without an inspection, except a lorry loaded with eggs that was inspected quickly, along with the documents of its passengers, and the same with a bus of UN workers.
After the long line shrank, they started to check more luggage compartements and IDs. Almost all the vans were checked, on both directions.
We think that this was the case because before we came the checkpoint was "relaxing".
In most cases the checking of the IDs was very quick. Average time was 3-4 minutes. Sometimes the "checkup" was so quick, that we suspected that the documents were not really checked.
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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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