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Abu Dis, Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal), Sheikh Saed, Silwan, Sun 30.10.11, Morning

Place: Abu Dis / Lazarus gate (formerly The Wicket) Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal) Sheikh Sa'ed Silwan
Observers: Anat Toeg, Nava Jenny Eliashar (reporting)
Oct-30-2011
| Morning

  

  

 

 

 
6:20 Olive Terminal 
The checkpoint is overcrowded, we could barely find a parking spot in the gigantic parking lot.  Some 100 persons are waiting outside the only open turnstile.  Inside, 3 checkng points are open, some 150 waiting in the lines.
The men stand in front of the northern turnstile, the women in front of the southern, but there is no real separation between the lines.  The women's southern turnstile opened just once, but that did not create a problem because when the green light came on in the men's line they made way for the women and children.
 
6:50 Olive Terminal 
The outside line is almost empty.  At 6:40 we entered in the direction of the checkiing point. 
In the last 30 minutes 200 people went in.
The lines diminish quickly.  The shrill voice of the female soldier in position three is heard non-stop: "… stop beeping… take everything out of your pockets… move back, I'm checking him… imshi, cross…"
20 are waiting in line 3 ahead of us.  The turnstile is constantly open, and entrance is regulated by the people depending on the checking pressures.  By and large, things move fast.
 
7:00 Olive Terminal 
We passed the checking, a total of 20 minutes for all the phases.  On the outside the commander of the checkpoint awaits us — a short conversation, and we leave, with no more lines behind us.
The commander reports an incident which took place before our arrival.  Persons from Hebron pushed into the turnstiles, and some got crushed.  The security personnel had to risk pushing into the resulting tumult to rescue those trapped.  Some of those pushing were detained, not arrested, and will shortly be released.
 
7:30 Silwan
 
"The King's Garden" in City of David.  The future garden apparently to be built on the ruins of Palestinian homes, is still being dug, still without plants or landscaping.  But someone has decided to mark the spot where King David picked roses on his morning stroll, to the sound of birdsong and the caress of breezes.  It is for this that a number of Palestinians from the Bustan neighbourhood have been ordered to evaporate from their homes.
Further on we saw excavations for thick concrete pipes to be laid in the ground.  Perhaps the sewage problem of the surrounding area will be solved.
 
7:45 Sheikh Saed
 
The children have long since crossed on their way to school.  No one to talk to.
In the space above the checkpoint ten young men are waiting.  They don't have permits to cross into Israel, and it doesn't look as though they'll get them in the future.  They're trapped in their community of some 3,000 souls until the eastern road to Bethlehem will be paved, or until the occupation ends, whichever comes first.  It's heart-rending to see these youths without any professional, social or financial horizons.  In the meantime, they stand next to their dilapidated vehicles, waiting for a passerby to pay for a ride inside the neighbourhood.
 
 

 

  • 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.

  • Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal)

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    • 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.

  • 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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  • Silwan

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    • Silwan is south of the Old City of Jerusalem and has become one of the main confrontation areas with settlers.

       

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