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Abu Dis, Container (Wadi Nar), Sheikh Saed, Tue 7.10.08, Afternoon

Observers: Julia W., Rina H., Rahel W. (reporting)
Oct-07-2008
| Afternoon
We went first to Sheikh Saed, arriving there around 2:30 p.m.  The place was absolutely and totally deserted.  We did not see any people within Sheikh Saed, no cars moving, no shops open.  Even at the checkpoint area, we had difficulty discerning any personnel, but later did note one person inside one of the booths.  I can't imagine how the people in that cage maintain their sanity, let alone provide for the very basics of life.

There were several tour buses parked near the wall at Abu Dis, but we did not see any visitors to the place.  Perhaps they were inside one of the small streets.  Very little activity there.

A Za'ayyem
quiet — perhaps especially so because it was the day before Yom Kippur.

No special arrangements in Eizariya — no security personnel in evidence.
When we arrived at Wadi Naar, there was a line whose end we could not see of vehicles heading south.  About 7 vehicles were waiting to come north.  Within a minute of our arrival, everything started moving.  No checks, nothing.  The border police did not even look at those coming through, just giving a wave while talking among themselves.  The only ones checked at all were those in a bus, and that too could not have been more cursory. 
With all the measures taken to distance us from the Palestinians and the stringency of the checkpoints, we sometimes wonder about our purpose in continuing to go out.  However, when we witness time after time that our very presence causes lines to move more quickly, thereby lessening a little the indignity and hardship at the checkpoints, it's all worth the effort.
  • 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)

       

  • 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.

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