Abu Dis, Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal), Sun 10.1.10, Morning
|
7:00 Ma'aleh Adumim
Today we decided to drive to Ma'aleh Adumim and observe its development. We entered from the east and saw the infrastructure for the polic station opposite; it was clear that more buildings will rise around it, finally creating territorial continuity also from the east.
For all intents and purposes, this settlement operates as a city, with an abundance of schools (mostly of the religious educational stream), and colleges, and an imposing shopping mall. From Ma'aleh Adumim we drove to Al-Ezariya and reached the Zeitim crossing from the other side.
7:45 Zeitim Crossing 
At the crossing we spoke with two drivers who told us that the toilets put up there were open for one months only, and are now closed. The army's pretext: children went in and took a lot of water! A serious misdemeanour. They also told us that the hours between 4 and 6 a.m. are the busiest, and that today's queue reached as far as the parking lot.
8:15 Az-Za'ayyem
We entered on the side that remains outside the Wall. A sorry spectacle: ghostly abandoned streets, closed shops, a few open and silent. We spoke with a grocer who told us that border police roam around from 1 a.m. in the streets and along the wall, enter homes, and occasionally beat up people in the street "no matter who they are."
We filmed the lower crossing (under the bridge) and the checkpoint. No crossing in the direction of Jerusalem, only towards Ma'aleh Adumim.
9:00 Sheikh Jarrakh
Nasser Rawwi and the protest tent: The police, he says, who close the street on Fridays because of the demonstration of support (which ends no later than 16:00), leave the street closed until 20:00.
|
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.
-