Bethlehem (300)
9:00 to 11:00
In preparation for Passover at the checkpoint – renovations, repairs, cleaning and a little more guidance
The first 4 windows are blocked, on the third window there is a piece of paper written in Arabic announcing: the entrance to Bethlehem is from there, and an arrow points toward a farther window, where the middle gate is wide open. Good of them to finally think they have to direct people who are not familiar with the rules!
As for the entrance to Israel, two windows are open – window 5 (where the biometric identification device is installed) and window 6 (where there is no installation and hence the passage is a lot faster of course). Palestinians occasionally wonder why the lucky ones who stood in front of window 6 pass so much faster than those who stood in front of window 5. Those who notice the difference are trading windows. This situation demonstrates more than anything just how arbitrary it all is: in window 6 one passes with a permit. In window 5 one passes with a permit, plus a fingerprint check, where many are required to repeatedly rub their finger time and again, and then again press the finger till the device is able to decipher…
Since the entrance is filthy because the ongoing work and because I want to see what happens in the open windows, I stood in front of window 6. Within minutes the security guard arrived:
– Stand at the entrance! You are disturbing here and it’s forbidden for you to be here!
– We always stand here to see what happens during the checking. You can ask your commander.
Later his commander came out and repeated the same text, as did I. Then he told me he is the commander here, and I must not stand here because of ongoing work; that I can complain about him if I want (he gave me his full name and his personal number) and that I have to stand at the entrance. I stood in front of window 4 so I could see very well what was happening at the checking, and no one came back to bother me.
Many people passed, there was not even one shout from the other side of the checkpoint (the Palestinian side), many were smiling and / or said "thank you" (?), many children passed too. I saw one person who was denied entry because he didn’t have a permit.
Bethlehem (300)
See all reports for this place-
Located adjacent to the Separation Wall ("Jerusalem Wrap") at the north entrance to Bethlehem, this checkpoint cuts off Bethlehem and the entire West Bank from East Jerusalem, with all the serious implications for health services, trade, education, work and the fabric of life. The checkpoint is manned by the Border police and private security companies. It is an extensive infrastructure barrier and is designated as a border terminal, open 24 hours a day for foreign tourists. Israeli passport holders are not allowed to pass to Bethlehem, and Palestinian residents are not allowed to enter Jerusalem, except those with entry permits to Israel and East Jerusalem residents. Israeli buses are allowed to travel to Bethlehem only through this checkpoint.The checkpoint, which demonstrated harsh conditions of crowding and extreme passage delays for years, started employing advanced electronic identification posts and has upgraded its gates' system as of the middle of 2019 - and conditions improved.Adjacent to the checkpoint, in an enclosure between high walls and another passage, is the historic Rachel's Tomb, which is now embedded within a concrete fortified building. It contains prayer and study complexes for Jews only, as well as a residential complex. updated November 2019 .
-