Abu Dis, Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal), Fri 17.8.12, Morning
|
Last Friday of Ramadan
Olive Terminal
Fewer than expected arrived, because — so we were told — of the proximity of Friday and Id-al-Fitr, for which people, and mostly women, are busy preparing at home.
At the forefront checking point the team was changed, mostly border-police. Throughout our shift they were impatient and rude to the Palestinians, and we too were greeted with the routine "you're getting in the way…"
The piles of garbage alongside the checking shelter have returned and grown. Someone must have decided that clearing up once a month is enough. Throughout Ramadan the refreshment stand for soldiers stood next to the inspection point, and they partook in front of those crossing.
Crossing was fluent and quiet at the entrance to the checkpoint, but inside an occasional line would form.
A policeman prevented a 13.5 year old child and his mother from crossing. The DCO representative checked their documents again and again and asked they be allowed to cross. A lengthy argument between the policeman and the DCO representative, including other security persons, ensued. In the end, both mother and child crossed.
An old woman in a wheelchair also created a problem because her companion was not yet 40. An extended council of diverse security officers ensued, as though the issue was a fateful question — of the order of declaring war on Iran? — but in the end they were allowed to cross.
|
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.
-
Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal)
See all reports for this place-
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.
-