Abu Dis, Container (Wadi Nar), Sheikh Saed, Wed 2.6.10, Afternoon
14:00 till 17:00
Sheikh Saad
We had heard that the red light at the entrance to Sheikh Saad had been turned to green once, but today there was no car entering and the light was as red as ever.
Quite a lot of girls on their way back from school passed unhampered and we also walked up without being asked any questions. There were no people loitering above the CP and all looked quiet, we returned – the metal detector screamed, but we didn’t even have to show our ID’s.
City of David
We decided to investigate the impromptu CP in the City of David and drove off the Road of the Americas towards Dung Gate. We tried in vain to call Mahmoud , who had requested our presence, but got no reply – next time we will call him a day earlier.
There was no Border Police near the entrance to the City of David.
We proceeded towards Sheikh Jarrah and talked to two Palestinians and two ISM people (a girl from Italy and a young man from the States).
We were told that the two newly evicted households were people who lived cheaply in Amidar housing and that one elderly woman had been told to sign something if she wanted to remain in her home. It had turned out that she had signed to a very high rent with a closure that if she didn’t pay up she would be evicted.
Apparently a lawyer is trying to undo the damage.
The ISM people told us about their friend who had lost an eye two days ago during a demonstration near Qalandia where she was hit with a tear-gas canister and the tear gas had been sprayed straight into her eye, her jaw bone has been wired and her father (a Zionist from the New York area) who had been unaware of his daughters activities is constantly at her bedside in Hadassa.
Settlers came and went eyeing us suspiciously.
Wadi Nar
We proceeded to Wadi Nar where contrary to a newspaper report we saw that the settler road to Qedar was NOT open to Palestinian traffic only the one via the garbage dump which is used by the traffic to Azzariya and beyond, whereas the road turning left is now only used by vehicles to the University of Al Kuds and Abu Dis.
All vehicles passed smoothly and no one was held up.
Abu Dis / Lazarus gate (formerly The Wicket)
See all reports for this place-
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)
See all reports for this place-
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
See all reports for this place-
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.
Avital CFeb-27-2026Jerusalem, Damascus Gate: Crowd rushing to prayer
-