Bethlehem (300)
Bethlehem Checkpoint
The eve of Yom Kippur and Eid Al Adha
9:00-10:50O
Quite deserted, very few people pass. I dared sit on the edge of an abandoned flowerpot. The officer came out at once and informed me:
– First of all you have no right to stand inside the checkpoint, and definitely not to sit. You can sit outside or stand by the entrance.
Of course I stood inside the checkpoint, close to the only open window.
Whoever arrived passed without a problem. One Palestinian wanted to know when would he be able to return and if the checkpoint will be closed till after Yom Kippur. The soldier responded that he will be able to pass with his permit whenever he’d like tomorrow.
At 10:10 3 policemen arrived through the checkpoint from Bethlehem pushing a Palestinian while one of the policemen was holding his folded arm behind his back and disappeared with him in one of the interior rooms. There was no one to ask about this man’s fate. At 10:40 a policeman came out and I asked what’s going on.
– He went wild at the checkpoint, called: “Allahu Akbar” tried to break something and to incite the people who were there to join him.
When I left the checkpoint was completely deserted, the Palestinian was still inside.
Bethlehem (300)
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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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