Bethlehem, Thu 3.1.08, Morning
04:40- Behtlehem, passage no. 300 from the Palestinian side
A lot of commotion in that area: a stand with warm drinks and food for sale, cabs, hundreds of workers who were standing in a linethat not only reached the area with 
the "metal" gates, but nearly reached
the end of the checkpoint. The 'line later
grew and it sometimes even went
beyond the gates.
At the beginning of the line we managed
to see bonfires that were lit so that they
could warm whose waiting, one of them
was made of carton boards. We understood
that some people arrive there at around 3-3:30
at night just to make sure they have a good place in the line.
The checkpoint had opened a couple of minutes after 5:00. They enabled people to enter in groups: the checkpoint would open for several minutes, during which dozens of people swarmed in, and then it would close again for some time. And then it would start all over again.
The workers kept arriving the whole time. Our estimation is that during our time there hundreds if not thousands of people had passed.
We met two ecumenics who were on their morning shift, they were crossing the checkpoint. Afterwards one of them had crossed the checkpoint back to the Palestinian side and we had an interesting conversation with her, we talked about the cooperation between both groups and about how important it is- they use our help to communicate with the security forces, and we use their help to find out what goes on at the Palestinian side of the checkpoint, especially when its very early in the morning, as it is an hour in which most of our shift aren't there yet.
People had asked several times about Silviya Piterman, someone even stopped us at a junction to ask about her.
We returned at about 7:00 AM.
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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