Jerusalem-Surround: Palestinians travel long hours to work and school
Israel annexed East Jerusalem to its territory, illegally. Since the annexation, it has treated its Palestinian residents as unwanted immigrants – even though it is the one that entered their territory – and it implements a systematic policy designed to keep them away from their homes and their city. The Palestinians in Jerusalem have “permanent resident” status in Israel – a status given to foreign citizens who wish to live in Israel. However, unlike immigrants who voluntarily chose to live in Israel and have another country to return to, the residents of East Jerusalem are not like that – they do not have another home, another homeland or status elsewhere in the world and they never chose to live in the State of Israel; Israel is the one that occupied the territory where they live and annexed them to its own territory.
Sheikh Saad: The checkpoint is placed on the separation fence at the entrance to Sheikh Saad, which is located on a hill. The checkpoint is manned by Border-Guard officers and private security companies and is active 24 hours a day. The passage of Palestinians is prohibited, with the exception of residents of the mother neighborhood of Jabel Al Mukaber or residents of Sheikh Saad who hold permits. Both groups are only allowed to pass on foot. Residents of East Jerusalem who do not live in the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood are also allowed to pass through the checkpoint on their way to Sheikh Saad, but not on the way back, where they are required to pass through the A-Zeitun or A-Zaim checkpoint.
* At the foot of the checkpoint we met children, from little ones to high school students, waiting for a bus to take them to school. Three Palestinian female students were on their way to Sheikh Sa’ed, to get to Al-Quds University across the wall. To return, they have to somehow travel to a checkpoint in northern Jerusalem and return to their pavilion in Jabel Mukhaber. One father who accompanied a cute little girl said that today the transition was easy, but that is not always the case – we were not surprised – we have been hearing this for years.
Ras El Amud/ Ma’ale Zeitim settlement: an extremist Jewish settlement in Ras El Amud near the Jericho road and overlooking the Temple Mount and the old city and located near the old Jericho road. The neighborhood’s land was purchased by the Jewish-American tycoon Irving Moskowitz who also purchased what was the Jerusalem District Police Station, which moved to an isolated location in a large and luxurious building in area E1.
At Ras El Amud we went down to the level below the old Jericho road to a drilling site belonging to the Sheik Inbar tunnel works for blue card holders only. The tunnel is supposed to pass under A-Tur and Abu Dis. It is not clear to us and will lead to Silwan (the Wall?). (see Peace Now diagram)
We continued to Abu Dis, and went up from the place where the separation wall blocks the Jericho road, towards the Cliff Hotel which stands in its ruins, on the roof of which is a Border-Guard police station and it is surrounded from three directions by the separation wall. We wanted to take a look at Kidmat Zion which is about to develop into a significant size settlement.
We continued to the infamous “Pishpash” (wicket door) which was the beginning of the construction of the separation barrier in Abu Dis. Now there is a closed barrier there, and the children beyond the wall no longer go to the convent garden, whose playground is blocked by the separation wall. We progressed between the neighborhood houses, where the balcony is in Palestine and the bedroom is in Israel.
* We met a young father with his infant daughter who said that he is renting the house and is satisfied with the relative quiet in the respectable neighborhood. It is true that the kitchen window is blocked by the separation wall and the army is stationed at the edge of the neighborhood and visits sometimes, but is not particularly disruptive. He hopes to leave – the hint was to leave and not return.
From there to the olive checkpoint sitting alone on a steep hill. It was a central entry barrier to Jerusalem for pedestrians coming from the Azaria area and the south, but since October 2023 it is only open between 7:00 to 9:00 in the morning, and only to holders of blue cards or holders of special permits for Jerusalem. It is open all day for those leaving for Azaria and the West Bank, but those working in Jerusalem must stamp a magnetic card upon their return, to ensure that they do not stay overnight in Israel.
* The traffic is light and we photographed the last bus that left the checkpoint at 9 o’clock. Female students said that they go to Al-Quds University every day, but at the end of school, you can only return from checkpoints in northern Jerusalem.
From the hilltop, we took photos of the bulldozers working on the entrance to the Sheikh Inbar tunnel, part of Jerusalem’s northern ring road. It will connect Highway 1 to the Mount of Olives exit.
The sign with its whitewashed language mentions “a northern portal of the American Road”, and emphasizes the new exit that will be in the A-Tur neighborhood for the residents’ benefit. We will remind you again: for blue card holders only: Israelis and permanent residents of Jerusalem.
From here we went to a meeting with Nafuz Dadua in her home on the outskirts of Efrat, which is threatened with immediate demolition.
On our way we passed the tunnel barrier placed on Highway 60 west of the entrance to Beit Jala, staffed by the police and a private security company. Crossing for Palestinians is prohibited except for residents of East Jerusalem. We admired the vigorous expansion work on the west side of Route 60.
Here the bulldozers work non-stop to allow the settlers to reach Jerusalem quickly. At the Nashash vehicle checkpoint, which is the only entry gate to Bethlehem from the south, there was a great crowd.
* Nafuz was widowed about two months ago, she has 5 daughters, the oldest of which is 16, and 2 young sons, the younger being 8. The family’s financial situation is dire, and now UNRA may not be allowed to help either. We were happy to hear that all the children are in school, and on the way we saw that the two soldiers’ posts down the road were empty today, so maybe the kids could cut short the long way to El Khader school. Nafuz is of course worried – the bulldozers could appear any day. We are trying to mobilize international as well as internal support, but we encounter the more urgent focus on what is happening in Gaza.
We arrived at Kalandia on the way home, at about 2:30 p.m. Up until the war, it was open 24 hours a day for the passage of Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem and residents of the West Bank holding permits to enter Israel. On October 7 it was completely closed to Palestinians and only opened for the passage of residents of East Jerusalem on October 23rd 2023, but only Sundays through Thursdays and between the hours of 5:00 – 17:00. As of February 7, 2024, Palestinian residents of the rest of the West Bank who hold entry permits to Israel were also allowed to cross during those hours. On Fridays the checkpoint is still closed.
* We crossed the border to the Palestinian side of the barrier. The traffic jams were impossible. We tried to return to Hizma through the Jabba checkpoint, but there was a big traffic jam. All the traffic in those traffic jams is accompanied by desperate hawking of children and adults, placing their goods on the concrete barriers separating the busy lanes. It is clearly noticeable that the economic situation is unbearably difficult. Still, there are no honks or road rage. This is how we drive long hours to work and back – all over Jerusalem and its surroundings.
Location Description
Abu Dis / Lazarus gate (formerly The Wicket)
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Abu Dis / Lazarus Checkpoint/Gate (east of the former “wicket”)
Construction of the wall in the Abu Dis area blocked all the gaps that allowed people to cross from al-Ezariya to the neighbourhoods of Abu Dis and Ras al 'Amud that are located within Jerusalem’s municipal boundary. The Lazarus checkpoint is a gate in the wall adjacent to the Lazarus Monastery. Until 2011 it had a door for pilgrims to al-Ezariya and for the monastery’s kindergarten pupils from al-Ezariya. The crossing is currently closed, but the site has infrastructure for conducting inspections.
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Qalandiya Checkpoint / Atarot Pass (Jerusalem)
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Click here to watch a video from Qalandiya checkpoint up to mid 2019 Three kilometers south of Ramallah, in the heart of Palestinian population. Integrates into "Jerusalem Envelope" as part of Wall that separates between northern suburbs that were annexed to Jerusalem in 1967: Kafr Aqab, Semiramis and Qalandiya, and the villages of Ar-Ram and Bir Nabala, also north of Jerusalem, and the city itself. Some residents of Kafr Aqab, Semiramis and Qalandiya have Jerusalem ID cards. A terminal operated by Israel Police has functioned since early 2006. As of August 2006, northbound pedestrians are not checked. Southbound Palestinians must carry Jerusalem IDs; holders of Palestinian Authority IDs cannot pass without special permits. Vehicular traffic from Ramallah to other West Bank areas runs to the north of Qalandiya. In February 2019, the new facility of the checkpoint was inaugurated aiming to make it like a "border crossing". The bars and barbed wire fences were replaced with walls of perforated metal panels. The check is now performed at multiple stations for face recognition and the transfer of an e-card. The rate of passage has improved and its density has generally decreased, but lack of manpower and malfunctions cause periods of stress. The development and paving of the roads has not yet been completed, the traffic of cars and pedestrians is dangerous, and t the entire vicinity of the checkpoint is filthy. In 2020 a huge pedestrian bridge was built over the vehicle crossing with severe mobility restrictions (steep stairs, long and winding route). The pedestrian access from public transport to the checkpoint from the north (Ramallah direction) is unclear, and there have been cases of people, especially people with disabilities, who accidentally reached the vehicle crossing and were shot by the soldiers at the checkpoint. In the summer of 2021, work began on a new, sunken entrance road from Qalandiya that will lead directly to Road 443 towards Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. At the same time, the runways of the old Atarot airport were demolished and infrastructure was prepared for a large bus terminal. (updated October 2021)
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Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal)
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A large checkpoint/crossing to the area of a-Tur, Abu Dis and the Old City; only for pedestrians. Located on Jerusalem’s municipal boundary.
One of the major crossings in Jerusalem’s central sector. It is located on the separation fence between the northern portion of the al-Ezariya neighborhood and the neighborhood of a-Tur and the rest of East Jerusalem. It is manned by Border Police soldiers and private security companies and operates 24 hours a day. Palestinians are forbidden to go through, other than permanent residents of East Jerusalem (holders of blue ID cards) and holders of work and commercial permits who are allowed through only on foot.
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Sheikh Sa'ed
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A checkpoint limited to pedestrians, located on Jerusalem’s municipal boundary.
The checkpoint sits on the separation fence at the entrance to Sheikh Sa’ad, dividing it from its neighbourhood of Jabel Mukkabar. It’s manned by Border Police soldiers and private security companies and operates 24 hours a day. Palestinians are forbidden to go through, other than residents of Jabel Mukkabar or Sheikh Sa'ad who have permits. Both groups are permitted through only on foot. Residents of East Jerusalem who don’t live in Jabel Mukkabar are also allowed to cross to Sheikh Sa’ad, but not in the opposite direction; they must return through the Sawahira ash Sharqiya checkpoint.
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Tunnels CP
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Tunnels CP
A checkpoint on Road 60, west of the entrance to Beit Jala. The checkpoint is manned by the army, Border Police and private security companies. Palestinian crossing is prohibited, except for residents of East Jerusalem.
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