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Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal), Sheikh Saed, Tue 18.12.12, Morning

Place: Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal) Sheikh Sa'ed
Observers: Idit S., Anat T. (reporting)
Dec-18-2012
| Morning

  

 
 
6:50 Sheikh Saed
 
Today the checkpoint was managed relatively calmly: no line, crossing workmen promptly picked up at the bottom of the hill, teachers and doctors hurrying to work, and children waiting for their transportation and smiling at us.  So very different from our shift a couple of weeks ago:  what a difference one obstreperous soldier can make to the smooth operation of the checkpoint and all those crossing.
 
7:45 Olive Terminal
 
Upon arrival we found only one position open to the public and a line of some 15 men and women crowded in front of the turnstiles.  A few minutes later one humanitarian passage was opened where women and children can cross quickly.  We were watching the event from a side corner inside the checkpoint area, when suddenly 2 security guards from a private company came up and asked us to leave.  We showed them the IDF instructions which permit humanitarian organisations to be present and also to film, but the guards have a different interpretation of this text.  They claim it permits us to cross but not to linger, just like everyone else using this checkpoint.  "But that's not what it says" we argue, and then comes the familiar riposte: "It's for your own good, just for your personal security."  For the n-th time we reply that we are not threatered, neither do we disturb the passage and checking of persons.  The argument continues, we earn some scolding and close observation.  This is a matter of principle for us because what transpires in the checkpoint can be observed only from within — from outside the view is obstructed by opaque fences.  Finally, after a phone call to D., the checkpoint commander, a delegation arrives led by a border policewoman who calms the worried guards.
A few minutes later we're on our way.

  • Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal)

    See all reports for this place

    • 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.

  • Sheikh Sa'ed

    See all reports for this place

    • 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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