Bethlehem, Tue 15.7.08, Morning
6:30 AM, Bethlehem CP: Four checking posts are open, the lines are remarkably short, so seemingly, all is quiet and well organized. Except for waves of loud shoutings and the unintelligible yells of a female voice through the loudspeaker, ordering people around, that we hear from the other side of the CP. The hell this morning is, as in many others, over there, far from the eye. The crowding, people keep telling us, is horrible. We talk to a volunteer of the ecumenical organization on the other side, and he reports that only one turnstile is functioning. Later on a second one was opened (but never all three of them).
This is almost a routine in Bethlehem CP.
At 08:00 AM the pressure dwindles; about fifty people are still waiting behind the turnstiles. Many workers missed their transportation – yet another lost working day.
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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