Al Nashshash, Bethlehem, Etzion DCL, Thu 26.11.09, Afternoon

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Place:

Bethlehem (300)

Observers:

Yael I., Ruth O., Ilana D. (reporting)

Nov-26-2009

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Afternoon

From 2:00 till 5:00 PM.

Etzion DCL: the parking lot across from the old entrance to El Khader is turninginto a true market and the improvised steep descent to the tunnel under theroad is turning into a major passageway, albeit very dangerous. At its entrancethe well-known big red sign announcing that the entry is forbidden to Israelishas been erected, thus formally acknowledging that this is an official road.All plans to continue the construction of the initially started road parallelto the road to Beitar Illith seem to have been abandoned. Once the rains startproperly we fear for very muddy conditions, especially down in the tunnel.

Al Nashshash: The pillbox at the entrance to Al Nashshash was illuminated, but there wasconsiderably less traffic than usual, presumably because of this new passage.

It was the eve of Id El Adkha and schools are off. We had not seen asmany cars at the parking lot of the DCL for years. There were lots of peopleoutside and indoors almost all chairs were taken. A man said that his wife hadbeen inside already for over four hours. The people in the waiting area told usthat they had been told to come back next week, since the magnetic card machinewas broken. They were all Christians who had come for a magnetic card to beable to visit the holy sites in Jerusalemduring Christmas and were taking advantage of the fact that this was a holidayand they didn’t have to go to work. Not many people had left the premises,hoping against better wisdom that the machine would miraculously be repairedand that all would be dealt with within an hour or so, since the DCL closesearly, at 4:00 PM, on Thursdays. Thesewere all Christians, most probably without problems re security and they tookthe harassment in their stride and were happily joking re their plight, whilewe felt embarrassed on their behalf that they had to waste their day off inthis way. A group of young girls was crowding against the turnstiles. Theloudspeaker creaked and someone shouted in English, but it was ratherincomprehensible because of the static and poor sound quality that they shouldall go home. The air-conditioner was running on and off and it wasn’t clearwhether it was supposed to heat or cool. Finally a woman was allowed to draw upa list of people present who were summoned to return on Sunday to be serviced.A man was told to apply for a one-day permit to the Palestinian DCL, but hetold us his son had been there and was told to apply to the Israeli DCL. Heclaimed the Palestinian office is much worse than the Israeli one and withoutbribes nothing can be achieved there. He claimed the treatment here is so muchbetter, we had our doubts, but later others confirmed his claims.

Location Description

Al Nashshash

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Junction on Road 60 from leading to the southern outskirts of al-Khader, to Salomon pools and to Bethlehem. Until 2015, a blockade at the junction prevented the passage of vehicles from the south (from Hebron) to Bethlehem and from there to the north of the West Bank and vice versa, and a small market developed at the junction, with taxis serving both directions on two sides of the blockage. Until 2015, Members of MachsomWatch police reports team would come to the scene to receive and return traffic violations reports for payment (possible only in Israel).- from Palestinians without a entrance permit to Israel. There is usually no military or police supervision i n place.

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

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Etzion DCO

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serves residents of Bethlehem and surrounding villages who need magnetic cards, work permits for Israel, permits for one-time entry for religious or health reasons, various police permits, etc.