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Bethlehem, Fri 4.1.08, Morning

Place: Bethlehem (300)
Observers: Efrat B. Leah A.
Jan-04-2008
| Morning


 

Bethlehem Checkpoint 

At the exit from the parking area in the direction of the checkpoint an officer called Yoav comes to meet us and tells us aggressively that he is the checkpoint commander and that we are not allowed to enter, and certainly not to stand near the inspection positions.   He is wearing a steel helmet and a flack-jacket and is accompanied by a guard.

 

         Yoav and the guard stay next to the path near the vehicles.   We continue to advance slowly in the direction of the checkpoint, and  call our colleagues on the phone,   The minibuses fill-up at the usual speed for this hour on a Friday.   As soon as we enter the path, Yoav approaches together with his guard, and tells us unpleasantly to return the way we came. 

       In the beginning, our telephone calls don’t help.   Ronny, commander of the checkpoint  doesn’t answer, and at the Humanitarian Office they emphasize that they deal only with the Palestinians, and that we should contact the public complaints department at the Central Command headquarters.   We return to our car to see if we have brought the relevant letters and to try again to contact people.   One of the guards patrols the parking area to keep an eye on us. 

       Eventually we manage to contact Ronny (by chance or not, to the less well known number).   Ronny says that he will talk to Yoav and that we can return to the checkpoint.   Of course Yoav is already not there and one of the guards greets us. 

2 inspection positions are open with long queues.   As we arrive, a tourist group approaches and  starts to take photographs.At first they don’t understand that the same inspection positions serve both those entering and leaving Bethlehem. 

       The queues lengthen and we contact the humanitarian office.   Shouts are heard on the far side of the checkpoint.   An elderly Palestinian asks one of the soldiers to let him pass through the second channel because the computer in the first channel is stuck.   After a few minutes an officer comes out to man a second inspection position and the queues gradually shorten. 

0950       We leave 
 
 

  • 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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