Bethlehem area - a house condemned to be immediately destroyed

Place:

Al-Khader

Bethlehem (300)

Container (Wadi Nar)

Jabel Mukaber (Jerusalem)

Nu'man (Mazmuria)

Observers:

Anat Tueg (reporting and photographing), Natanya Ginsburg (English) and Kamal, our driver

Mar-12-2023

Morning

Bethlehem area – the old house and the new wall

Photo:

Natanya Ginsburg

Location Description

Nu'man (Mazmuria)

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situated on the Wall route as part of "Jerusalem Envelope," in its southeastern stretch, east of Zur Baher, Um Tuba and the small Nuaman Village, on Beit Sahur road, the checkpoint will serve as the main crossing for commercial goods from the southern West Bank to Jerusalem.

Al-Khader

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Al-Khadr served as transit from Bethlehem to Route 60. A dirt mound prevent vehicular traffic from and to Bethlehem from the west. A small market developed there. Taxi ranks were on both sides of the obstruction. It was replaced by a similar obstruction at Al Nashash which has recently been removed and thus the way from Bethlehem to Hebron through Route 60 is now free.

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 info-icon

' 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

Container (Wadi Nar)

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Wadi Nar Checkpoint ("Container", "The Kiosk") - a barrier for vehicles in Area B that is regularly manned - east of Abu Dis between Sawahra A Sharqiya and Bethlehem and its daughters. Controls Palestinian movement between the north and south West-Bank. Includes driving routes, access roads, spikes, traffic lights and signs. There is no pedestrian crossing. Open 24 hours a day with random checks enhanced on security alerts. The checkpoint is in Palestinian territory, allowing for separation between the north and the south Palestinian areas when necessary.

In 2015, the leading road from Azaria to Bethlehem was renovated, as well as the steep and narrow ascent to the Wadi Nar checkpoint, which was dangerously travelled in both directions! The temporary checkpoint was renovated and expanded, and pedestrian traffic was banned. From 2016, traffic travelling from the south bank to Azaria was directed to a one-way road near the Southern Keydar Jewish settlement.

Machsomwatch shifts visit this far-fetched checkpoint only occasionally.

(updated to July 2019)

Jabel Mukaber (Jerusalm)

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Jabel Mukaber (Jerusalm)