Bethlehem, the third Friday in Ramadan
Long live "Freedom of Worship" – Where is it?
08:20we were early to arrive at the checkpoint. Traffic was still fairly sparse but the atmosphere was violent. Total adhering to the "age" policy. Many young girls were sent back and some adamantly refused to accept the decision. In one case we were about to intervene since it seemed that a violent clash is about to erupt. The male and female soldiers behaved bluntly – there were some pushing and lots of yelling. The man’s passage was "quieter" perhaps because these people pass by checkpoints daily and they have already become accustomed to the humiliating atmosphere.
There was no holiday atmosphere whatsoever. Toward 10:00 the stream of people passing increased. And then "a miracle happened." Senior officers of the civil administration arrived at the scene – spoke to whoever they spoke, thought whatever they thought and made a decision – all of a sudden the checkpoint opened and everybody passed. All ages and all sexes and those who were waiting on the side and didn’t acquiesce to the previous selection – all got their wish granted. And we stood there and wondered for the umpteenth time: "why and how come??"
The answer is obvious – occupation, bureaucracy, belligerence and all the rest. This is what we see and this is what we report for the last long 15 years.
The transit to the buses was better this week than last week. Dozens of buses arrived one after the other, swiftly picked up the worshipers and went on their way.
In terms of physical arrangements there was even an improvement from what we saw last week.
Meager consolation.
Ramadan Kareem!
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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