Bethlehem, Fri 13.6.08, Morning
09.00 AM, Bethlehem Checkpoint: There are three security guards in the parking lot. There is the usual convoy of pick-up trucks and taxis on the road next to the entrance. Inside, only the fifth checking booth is open – this is the one with no finger-print recognition machine. The queue is short, but one of the men who pass tells us that there is a lot of pressure on the far side of the checkpoint, and that only one checking booth is open there too. We also question a group of students which pass and afterwards we phone the center. The soldier there says they will check – the answer is that the reason for the pressure is that a shift changeover is in progress.
After more than a quarter of an hour, when there again comments about the pressure on the far side, and after another call to the center for clarification, an additional female soldier is sent over. Her body-language is antagonistic, and when she has gone over we hear shouting and coarse language.
Just like other Fridays, some men with work-permits arrive with their small children. At first the soldier refuses to let them pass but after a few minutes he does so. Once again one of the women tells of pressure on the far side of the checkpoint, with about fifty people waiting to pass, and only one checking booth open. The female soldier in the center again says that she will verify .. . .
We leave shortly after 10.00, after the queue has shortened.
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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