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Bethlehem (300)

Place: Bethlehem (300)
Tags: Transfer Permits to Israel
Observers: Clair Oran, Translator: Naomi Gal
Apr-18-2014
| Morning

Bethlehem 

08:50 to 11:00

There is no sign of the repair works that were done a week ago. The partition at window 4 is again there. It is not clear what the cause of the renovation was. windows are open. Many are passing. When the line gets longer the top cop opens the gate between the windows and calls for women and children, then for men over 60 and older, and swiftly makes them all pass.

.

This is the same police officer who last week said that I should not stand inside the checkpoint and tried to expel me to the checkpoint’s entrance. When he saw me this morning he said: "I checked and you were right. You are allowed to stand here." I praised him for checking.

A young woman presented her permit, like everyone else. The woman soldier in the window asked her to hand over her permit and refused to return it to her: "You are restricted that’s what appears on the computer." The young woman protested, asked her to return her permit so she could go back to Bethlehem. The soldier refused, the policeman intervened, checked, saw that indeed there is a permit for 9 months, but that she became restricted. He was restrained and down to earth during the conversation I initiated about the perversity of GSS methods but he did not return her permit. Her mother tried to intercede for her, of course unsuccessfully; the young woman tried to stand at the window and block the passage till her permit is returned and that obviously was to no avail.

She might be the next one addressing Sylvia…

 

 

  • 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   .
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