Abu Dis, Container (Wadi Nar), Tue 4.8.09, Morning
07:00 Wadi Nar
Traffic flowing and random checks (mostly of transits) performed so as not to impede traffic; vehicles released within minutes.
08:00 The Pishpash (eastern side)
We decided to check the progress of work on the wall on this side. In order to avoid an encounter with last week's problems when we not allowed to cross, we arrived from the east. Directions:enterEl-Azariya from the direction of Maaleh Adumim, continue straight along the main road westward until it winds right, and you reach a church on the right, with a number of souvenir shops beside it. From there take the first right turn up a road which looks fairly new and leads directly westward.
The work is almost finished. Windows of homes which have become part of the wall are visible, as is the security road, almost paved, and the new shiny pillbox.
Archaelogical digs can also be seen. The archaeologist there told us that the security road passes over a system of underground wells and an olive press from hasmonean times. According to him, throughout the period of the wall's construction and until the present, there were only 2-3 spots which the antiquities authority has missed in their preliminary investigation, and this was one of them. In this case, the contractor had reported the finding (his interest is to obtain further commissions, and not risk a later discovery by the antiquities authority of a find not reported by the contractor.) The plan is to cover the findings, and the road will pass directly over them. They expect the archaeological work to continue for a couple of months.
09:00 Sheikh Jerakh, the protest tent
In the wake of the settlers' new invasion the protest tent in its former location has been destroyed. An improvised tent outside the occupied homes has been set up. The atmosphere is heavy.
Assistance personnel wander around. Over the fence, the occupying settlers mill around the courtyard. One of the local residents showed us, over the fence, construction debris that had accumulated in the couple of days since the settlers arrived. He said they were busy breaking down walls, and creating "facts" to conceal the fact that 8 families had been living there, creating the impression that only two apartments had been there. The sights were harsh.
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.
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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)
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