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Abu Dis, Container (Wadi Nar), Tue 23.12.08, Afternoon

Place: Abu Dis / Lazarus gate (formerly The Wicket) Container (Wadi Nar)
Observers: Julia W, Rina H., Rahel W. (reporting)
Dec-23-2008
| Afternoon

There were no checkpoints or barriers leading into Azariah.  Movement  was as usual.

Wadi Nar

Major changes have taken place at Wadi Nar since we were here last almost two months ago.  The entire area in front of the checkpoint has been expanded so that now there is the equivalent of two lanes going in each direction, and the area has been repaved.  The road leading to Wadi Nar from the Qedar Road now leads directly to the checkpoint area and the turnoff where we used to leave our car has been blocked by a new concrete barrier.

 
As we approached the checkpoint (climbing over the barrier) a soldier approached us and  told us that we were not allowed in the area and that we had to stand behind the barrier.  We told him that we had been coming here for years and there were never such restrictions, and he said those are the current rules.  We told him that we were going into the grocery store (which was within the closed off zone) and he said nothing.  We asked the shop owner when these new changes came into effect and he said just today.

 
At present, there is just one operating checkpoint for vehicles going in both directions.  About 10 meters down the road toward Bethlehem, there have been installed four checking booths –two for vehicles coming from each direction.  As was the case in Qalandiya,  we are witnessing the transferral of a temporary  checkpoint area into a permanent one. 
As for the movement today, it was quite rapid.  It was terribly windy and sand gusts were so strong that we were often blinded by it.  The soldiers, who had absolutely no shelter, were facing the same conditions and as a result, they seemed quite ready to just have the traffic go as quickly as possible.
What we noticed is that there seems to be no provision for pedestrians — the hundreds of workers who usually pass through every day.  During the time we were there, there were no pedestrians so we were not able to determine how they maneuver in these new conditions.

  • 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)

       

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