‘Anata-Shuafat, Wed 18.1.12, Morning
Translation: Judith Green
7:00-8:00
We passed through the fenced in lane on the other side of the new checkpoint. There was a lot of activity in the new parking lot. A huge number of buses came in to park and students were getting on themhttp://www.machsomwatch.org/en/node/add/content-daily-report?translation=19902&language=en
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There are a lot of ushers keeping order from the neighborhood committees; they direct the traffic and help the students find the correct bus. The head of the neighborhood committee explained that the residents had managed to come to an arrangement with the Municipality, that the school buses could pass through the checkpoint in a special lane without any military inspection. The expenses of the transportation are covered by the Municipality; the drivers are Palestinian. In this way, 3000 students pass through every morning to their schools and return home. The students are from Shu’afat Camp, Ras Hamis, Ras Ishchadah, Islam neighborhood and Anata.
The roads nearest to the Wall are neglected, empty, and most of the shops are closed. Only the students are rushing toward the parking lot. Only one cart is selling coffee and pastries. Garbage is piled up high, many of the shops seem to have been torched. There is an elementary near all this garbage and the Wall. One of the teachers chatted with us, with a sad and apologetic expression about the 
situation – both the situation of the students and also the environment in which they are living.
We returned by way of the checkpoint, through 3 turnstiles, and no one did any inspection. A few soldiers were fooling around behind the fortified windows. The appearance of the checkpoint is quite terrifying. An atmosphere like a prison, violent, inhuman, completely unconnected to normal life outside. Above, behind the fenced in lane, within a traffic circle, there was a police vehicle and a policeman randomly stopped people going through the checkpoint. When we asked why they were checking them one more time, after they had already been through the checkpoint inspection, they referred us to the police spokesperson; the policeman was not willing to even talk to to us
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We recommend taking as many people as possible to visit this checkpoint. It is very close to the city, new, you can even see the garage of the light railway and the apartment blocks of French Hill. The full satanic nature of the occupation is quite visible from here.
Checkpoint Shu'afat camp / Anata-Shu'afat (Jerusalem)
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The Shu’afat checkpoint is located in the northern part of East Jerusalem at the exit from the village of Anata and the Shu’afat refugee camp, which are located in the area annexed to Jerusalem in 1967. The refugee camp borders the Shu’afat neighborhood to the west, Pisgat Ze’ev to the north, the French Hill neighborhood to the south and the planned expansion of Ma’aleh Adumim to E-1 in the east. It was established in 1966 for 1948 refugees from the West Bank and was populated after the Six Day War by persons who had been expelled from the Jewish Quarter. Today its population comprises some 25,000 people holding blue ID cards and some 15,000 people with Palestinian ID cards. The camp lacks adequate infrastructure and services, and suffers from poverty, neglect and overcrowding. All its buildings are connected to the public electricity and water infrastructure, but not all are connected to the sewer system. The camp’s services are provided by UNRWA, except for those such as health clinics and transportation of pupils to schools in Jerusalem. In 2005, the Israeli High Court of Justice rejected a suit by the residents requesting that the route of the separation fence be drawn such that the camp would remain on the Israeli side, but conditioned its approval of the route on the establishment of a convenient and rapid crossing facility for the inhabitants of the neighborhood, most of whom are residents of Jerusalem.
A temporary checkpoint operated there until December, 2011. It was extremely congested during rush hours, and dangerous for pedestrians (especially children) because of inadequate safety provisions. The new checkpoint was inaugurated south of the old one, for public and private transportation and for pedestrians, intended solely for the residents of the camp – holders of blue ID cards, and those with Palestinian ID cards who possess appropriate permits. There are five vehicle inspection stations at the checkpoint, and two for pedestrians (one of which is currently closed) where scanners have been installed but are not yet operating. According to the army, representatives of government agencies will also be present to provide services to residents of the neighbourhood. The pedestrian lanes are very long, located far from the small parking lots, and accessible through only a single revolving gate.
Anat TuegJan-25-2026Anata: A new outpost has been built south of the junction
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