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Abu Dis, Sheikh Saed, Thu 30.9.10, Morning

Place: Abu Dis / Lazarus gate (formerly The Wicket) Sheikh Sa'ed
Tags: Arbitrariness, e.g. an arbitrary decision Children Crowding Health Problems Maltreatment Slow passage
Observers: Shosh H., Michaela R. (reporting)
Sep-30-2010
| Morning

 Simchat Torah

Sheikh Saed

General: Closure since onset of Succot.  Border police working by the book, in slow motion.

 
One of the boys, crossing the checkpoint after a long wait, says:
"You have Simchat Torah [the Joy of the Torah]. And what have we got?"

 
7:10

 
Some 25 are waiting inside the corridor, mostly pupils.  Inspection is excruciatingly slow — documents, bags, and long  pauses betwixt and between.  Waiting time: 7-10 minutes.

 
A pregnanat woman who asked to cross without magnometer check is made to wait a long time.

 
Around 7:30 the turnstile opens and some 10 pupils cross without inspection.  Only the very young ones are exempt from inspections.
A line forms again.
A border policeman joins the team — where was he till now?

 
A new torment begins: each time the magnometer beeps the pupil is made to remove one more object or one more garment until the policeman is satisfied.  In the past, pupils crossed without special attention.

 
A young woman, accompanied by two more, arrives.  She can barely stand, is squirming with pain,sits/crouches while her companions present the documents and bags for inspection.  After crossing the checkpoint, the three wait another 10 minutes for the arrival of the ambulance.  Is the regulation prohibiting vehicles from crossing, also in emergencies such as this, in accord with the High Court injunction  regarding "the fabric of life" of residents of Sheikh Saed?

 
By 7:50 the line disappears.  The last of the pupils are very likely late for school.


  • 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.

  • Sheikh Sa'ed

    See all reports for this place

    • 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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