Bethlehem, Tue 3.8.10, Morning
Bethlehem – Checkpoint 300: a lot of cars outside, waiting for workers. According to one of them, "Everything OK. Flowing." And that's how we found the checkpoint. Crowded in the lines, and flowing. And when there is something unusual, there are revealed negative attitudes, vulgarity and ugliness. A family passed with a child. The woman soldier asked for a birth certificate. The woman does not understand Hebrew. The soldier doesn't speak Arabic and the solution – a raised voice, anger all in Hebrew. And the mother still doesn't know Hebrew….
Officer A. comes to calm the scene with a pleasant smile. According to him, and in answer to our question – the soldiers at the positions are going through a course of basic Arabic.
At 07:30 precisely the number of stations is reduced. In place of four serving the transients there are now only two. The lines stretch as do tempers.
At 08:00 approximately the lines are almost empty.
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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