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Abu Dis, Container (Wadi Nar), Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal), Thu 23.10.08, Morning

Place: Abu Dis / Lazarus gate (formerly The Wicket) Container (Wadi Nar) Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal)
Tags: Detainees
Observers: Batya M., Michaela R. (reporting)
Oct-23-2008
| Morning

 

06:25 Sheikh Saed

Few people go through, and there are no problems. The absence of school children is noticeable.

 
07:00 Zeitim passage

Traffic is active, there are mostly school children. Suddenly route number one is closed, and on the loudspeakers we hear an order to move to another route.


A car that emerged from the eastern side, and arrived too close to the terminal got shrieking shouts "get themselves quickly out of there".

 
We crossed eastwards. The woman soldier in the shed closed the internal carousel for us, and only after a few talks on the phones we could go through.

The toilets in the waiting shed are closed, and the water focet is broken.

 

On the way back lines of about twenty people were accumulating in front of the inner carousels, and passage is more slow than usually (over fifteen minutes). When the lines get longer we hear an order on the loudspeakers that turns those with blue IDs to line number 3.  

 

08:20 Wadi Naar

As we arrived there we two detained taxis and long lines on both directions. Within 10 minutes the lines disappeared and the taxis were released. Most of the vehicles went through without being checked. Later another taxi was detained, but only for a very short while.

 

The yellow checkpoint arm on the road going east was glosed, and there was barbed wire wrapped around it. In general, there is more barbed wire in the area.

  • 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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