Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal)
Ras Abu Sabitan (Olive Terminal)
Another difficult morning at Olive Terminal
We arrived at approximately 6:45. There were short lines in front of each of the three checking positions. The first one was briefly closed immediately after our arrival. People moved to the second position. Soon after, this one was closed and the first reopened. People moved back, visibly irked. The second booth reopened briefly then closed for the rest of our stay. A man already inside the turnstile protested, saying that he was sick — to no avail. The conversation with him was impatient and loud. Of course the lines lengthened, spilling from the corridor into the canopied area. From time to time, people who had just arrived tried their luck in the second position which remained closed.
Much turmoil in the third position. The turnstile opened infrequently for brief moments. Miraculously, none of the many pupils crowding the line was injured. The adults in that line tried to help and create some order, but the line moved more slowly than in the first position. What is there to require so much inspection of these little ones? And the children, as is their wont, played and horsed around, some yawning and rubbing their eyes — how early do they need to wake up in order to face this ordeal? Now and then a parent accompanies the little ones until it's their turn to enter the turnstile. It is pitiful to see these young parents watching their children disappear into the turnstile, unable to accompany them to the school or kindergarten as do most parents in the world
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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