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Abu Dis, Container (Wadi Nar), Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal), Thu 5.2.09, Morning

Place: Abu Dis / Lazarus gate (formerly The Wicket) Container (Wadi Nar) Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal)
Observers: Netta A., Michaela R. (reporting)
Feb-05-2009
| Morning
7:00  Wadi Nar

 
Traffic flowing.  Only a few vehicles detained, for 2-3 minutes.  Many pedestrian school children crossing.

 
7:50  Zeitim Crossing

 
Sparse traffic.  We did not see anyone waiting in the shelter for the DCO.

 

Edomin Police Station in E1,  Az Za'ayyem

 
We drove there to see whether there is construction in the area.  Since neither of us had been there for a long time, we were not certain whether there were indeed changes.  On the hills to the east we saw something that looked like a new outpost.

 
From there we drove to Az-Za'ayyem.  We met a young man near the grocery store at the entrance to the village, and he told us of the demolitions carried out this week in Az-Za'ayyem and Issawiyya.  Close to the entrance, near the gas station, there is a pile of rubble, we don't know from when.  The man invited us to the roof of his house, but there was no view from there in the direction of E1 areas.
Near the new border-police base, Metzudat Edomim, we could see earthworks.
Our host also told us of an event this week in which a resident of Az-Za'ayyem was beaten and wounded at the checkpoint on his way to work.  To the best of our knowledge no complaint was submitted.

 
[Our host asked us not the enter the village without accompaniment]

 
We saw nothing out of the ordinary at the checkpoint.

  • 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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